Wordsmart I and II only words(Partial Bangla), Word Smart for the GRE (2nd Ed)

dilemma

state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options (e.g. "Jamie was in a dilemma: would he buy an ice cream cone, or a soda?")

emaciate

grow weak and thin or waste away physically (e.g. "since the boy refused to eat, he quickly became emaciated and died")

comprise

include or contain (e.g. "Jerry's plan to take over the world basically comprised a whole bunch of nonsense.") অংশীভূত করা

convolution

turns, windings, circumventions (e.g. "I could not follow all the convolutions of the plot of the story; it was very complicated") কুণ্ডলী (N), ভাঁজ (N), মোচড়ান (N), সংবর্তন (N)

nemesis

(Greek mythology) the goddess of divine retribution and vengeance; something causes misery or death (e.g. "I would call my roommate my nemesis; I am a complete slob, and he is a cleanliness freak, and we don't exactly get along.")

opprobrious

(used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame; expressing offensive reproach (e.g. "His opprobrious glance at me caused me to believe that he was displeased with my recent behavior.")

ACERBIC

ACERBIC (uh SUHR bik) adj having a sour or bitter taste or character • Dorothy Parker was famous for her wit, which could be quite acerbic; Parker could be devastating when she wanted to be. • I like my lemonade with very little sugar in it; the acerbic tang is refreshing when the weather's warm.

BANE

BANE (bayn) adj cause of injury, source of harm; source of persistent frustration • Even for those who recognize that smoking is far more of a bane than a benefit, quitting can be a struggle. • Paolo's little sister was the bane of his existence; she followed him everywhere and told their mom whenever he did anything he wasn't supposed to. Baneful means causing harm or ruin, pernicious, destructive. • The baneful effect of the curfew on my social life cannot be overestimated.

BEATIFY

BEATIFY (bee AT uh fy) v to bless, make happy, or ascribe a virtue to; to regard as saintly • She was described in such a glowing way; every single quality she possessed was beatified. Beatitude is a state of bliss, and beatific means having a blissful appearance. • His beatific smile could only mean that he had just eaten some exceptionally good sushi. Be careful not to confuse this with beautify, which means to make beautiful.

BELLICOSE

BELLICOSE (BEL i kohs) ad] belligerent, pugnacious, warlike • The bully's bellicose demeanor hid a tender side, but he was too busy getting into fights to reveal it. • Ted's bellicose expression warned me that he had discovered I had eaten the last of the ice cream. Bellicose shares a root with belligerent. Both come from the Latin belliger, which means warlike.

BLITHE

BLITHE (blithe) ad] carefree, merry • Stephanie's blithe disregard for what her peers might think made her the perfect hero for a clever yet moving coming-of-age teen movie. • Paul's blithe attitude toward his housecleaning led to a comfortable, if sometimes dusty, clutter.

DEMUR

DEMUR (di MUR) v to question or oppose • I hesitated to demur from the professor, until he said something factually inaccurate, at which point I felt I had to speak up. • Bob demurred at the suggestion that he clean the house while we swim.

ESCHEW

ESCHEW (e SHEW) v to shun or avoid • Daniel was unwilling to eschew her company even though I reminded him of how many times she had stood him up in the past. • Some vegans eschew all forms of animal products, refusing to wear leather or use lotions containing lanolin in addition to not eating anything that comes from animals

GERMANE

GERMANE (jur MAYN) adj relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter • I love reading her column because her remarks are always germane and central to the most important issues of the day. • Although his stories were seldom germane to the topic at hand, it was impossible not to enjoy his entertaining tangents.

GREGARIOUS

GREGARIOUS (gri GAYR y us) ad] sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people • Cherie's gregarious nature always made her the life of the party. • Although they are not usually known as gregarious creatures, some cats love to be the center of attention and want to hang out with everyone who comes to visit.

HOMOGENOUS

HOMOGENOUS (hu MAHJ un us) adj same throughout • The town had so little influx of new people and ideas that its population seemed homogenous to outsiders. • What seemed like a homogenous coating from a distance was really a swirl of different colors and textures when you examined it up close. Homogeneous is a less common way of expressing the same idea; the current usage of homogenous probably came from the word homogenize, which is to process a liquid so that its particles do not separate.

aghast

Horrified (e.g. "Lucy was aghast at the sight of the really big spider; she hates spiders") ভীত , ভয়ার্ত , আতঙ্কগ্রস্ত , বিস্ময়বিমূঢ়

INIMICAL

INIMICAL (i NIM i kul) ad] damaging, harmful, injurious, hostile, unfriendly • While the Antarctic is inimical to most animal and plant life, some organisms nevertheless manage to survive there. • He seemed inimical to my overtures of friendship, refusing even to talk to me. For a synonym for inimical, look ahead to pernicious.

INIMITABLE

INIMITABLE (i NIM muh tuh bul) adj one of a kind, peerless • His inimitable feats of daring on the trapeze were so audacious that no one else even tried to imitate them. • She lived up to every expectation when she arrived at the party decked out in ostrich feathers and sequins in her usual inimitable style.

INIQUITY

INIQUITY (i NIK wuh tee) n wickedness, gross injustice • The iniquity of the judgment was so blatant that there was immediate worldwide protest of its unfairness. • Having suffered under the iniquity of the dictator's rule for decades, the citizens understandably celebrated the overthrow of his regime. Iniquitous means characterized by wickedness.

IRASCIBLE

IRASCIBLE (eer A suh bul) adj easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts • Irascible to the end, the grouchy old man started a fight on his deathbed. • My roommate is so irascible that I always check for the sound of flying objects before I open the door.

JOCOSE

JOCOSE (joh KOHS) ad] given to joking; humorous • The jocose man could always be counted on for some levity, but it was almost impossible to get him to stop joking even for a minute. Jocular is very similar to jocose, but jocund is slightly different in that it means high-spirited rather than specifically humorous. Jocularity is fun characterized by humor.

MINATORY

MINATORY (MIN uh tor ee) adj menacing, threatening • Disregarding the minatory signs, we opened the door and discovered that the ferocious dog that the sign had warned us about was a dachshund—a fairly assertive dachshund, but only a 20-pound dog nonetheless. According to an ancient Greek myth, the Minotaur was a creature that guarded the Labyrinth, eating all who dared come inside. Athenian youths were sacrificed to the Minotaur before Theseus killed it, leaving the word minatory in its place.

protagonist

Main character (e.g. "in the classic book 'Anne of Green Gables,' the protagonist, Anne Shirley, generally finds that her life is too prosaic, and tries to imagine how it could be less so")

NEXUS

NEXUS (NEK sus) n a connection, tie, or link; center or focus • Although many people have studied the nexus between rehabilitation programs for prisoners and rates of recidivism, no one has been able to draw any universally accepted conclusions about the relationship. • The group members' objective is to strengthen the nexus between theory and practice by implementing programs based on their ideas about community service.

NICE

NICE (nys) adj exacting, extremely or even excessively precise; done with delicacy or skill • The distinction he drew between the two findings was so nice that most of his listeners weren't even sure it was there. He had so nice a sense for chocolate that he could identify the source of the cocoa bean used to make each variety.

NOISOME

NOISOME (NOY sum) adj offensive, especially to one's sense of smell, fetid • I don't know how anyone with a nose can live in an apartment that noisome. • The noisome miasma rising from the swamp was the result of a chemical spill.

NONPLUSSED

NONPLUSSED (nahn PLUST) adj baffled, in a quandary, at a loss for what to say, do or think • Ernest was a little nonplussed when Gertrude told him that she loved him but she wasn't in love with him, which is admittedly pretty confusing. • I was nonplussed as to how a dog, a hamster and a turtle could have made such a mess, but once I figured out that they had invited the whole neighborhood menagerie over, it made a lot more sense.

OBDURATE

OBDURATE (AHB dur ut) ad] unyielding, hardhearted, inflexible • The villain's obdurate heart was unmoved by the plight of the villagers; he refused to show any compassion at all. • Completely unwilling to acknowledge that we might be lost, Anthony was obdurate in his insistence that we were going the right way.

OBSTINATE

OBSTINATE (AHB stin ut) adj stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising • Stop being so obstinate and just admit that I'm right! • He couldn't get the obstinate oxen to move, no matter how much he coaxed.

OCCLUDE

OCCLUDE (uh KL00D) v to obstruct or block • The big bus that parked right in front of us occluded our view. • The path had become occluded by years of underbrush growing over the trail.

OSTENTATIOUS

OSTENTATIOUS (ah sten TAY shus) adj characterized by or given to pretentiousness • The ostentatious display of his diplomas on the front door of his office backfired whenever anyone noticed that the names of all the schools were spelled incorrectly. • His house was a shrine to ostentation; it had fourteen bathrooms with gold bathtubs.

OVERWEENING

OVERWEENING (oh vur WEEN ing) ad] presumptuously arrogant, overbearing, immoderate • His overweening arrogance made everyone want to smack him, which was the only way he got to be the center of attention that he imagined he should be. • Your overweening presumption in asking for my help is stunning, given how many times you have mocked me before.

PAEAN

PAEAN (PEE un) n a song or expression of praise and thanksgiving • The celebratory bonfire was a paean to victory. • The young musician composed a paean to his beloved teacher in thanks for her guidance.

PIRATE

PIRATE (PY rut) v to use or reproduce illegally • Pirated copies of the movie were circulated even before its release in theaters. • U.S. companies are concerned about the widespread pirating of software in countries with less strict copyright protection.

PRATTLE

PRATTLE (PRAT ul) v to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner • Katrina started to fall asleep as her girlfriend prattled on about every little thing that had happened in the previous twenty four hours. Prattle can also be a noun. • His interminable prattle made me crazy and I just wished he would be quiet for a few minutes.

PRECARIOUS

PRECARIOUS (pri KAYR ee us) adj uncertain, risky, dangerous • The general's hold on power was precarious; at any time another coup could overthrow his young regime. • The house was perched precariously on the edge of the cliff, vulnerable to any mudslide.

PROFLIGATE

PROFLIGATE (PRAH fli get) adj excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant • The profligate ruler emptied the country's treasury to build his many mansions.

PROPINQUITY

PROPINQUITY (pruh PIN kwuh tee) adj nearness in time or place, affinity of nature, kinship • The geographic propinquity of the two towns led to a close connection between the two populations. • His propinquity to the object of his affections made him blush.

PROVIDENT

PROVIDENT (PRAH vi Bunt) adj frugal, looking to the future • His provident financial planning allowed him to buy a small tropical island when he retired. Providential looks similar but means happening as if from divine intervention. • His providential recovery from the accident was nothing short of miraculous.

QUIESCENCE

QUIESCENCE (kwy ES unts) n stillness, motionlessness, quality of being at rest • The volcano's quiescence was only temporary; it could erupt at any time. Quiescent means inactive, latent, causing no trouble, being at rest. • Malaria can remain quiescent for years at a time, only to recur at some later point. • According to Newton, quiescent objects tend to remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.

QUOTIDIAN

QUOTIDIAN (kwoh TID ee un) ad] occurring or recurring daily, commonplace • The quotidian drag of cornflakes for breakfast, a meaningless job, a TV dinner and the same old shows before going to bed at the same time every night was starting to get Jasper down, so he switched to waffles for breakfast to shake things up a bit. • Whenever possible, Anita tried to sleep through her quotidian train commute home.

SATIATE

SATIATE (SAY shee ayt) v to overindulge, satisfy to excess • He had a perpetual craving for chocolate that no amount could satiate, not even pounds of the stuff. • After the eight-course meal, I was satiated; in fact, I was pretty sure I wouldn't eat again for days. Sate is a synonym of satiate.

SLAKE

SLAKE (slayk) v to satisfy, quench, lessen the intensity of • I was looking forward to getting back to the porch and having a julep to slake my thirst. • His anger slaked somewhat when he realized he had simply parked his car in the wrong spot, and that no one had stolen it.

SODDEN

SODDEN (SAHD un) adj soaked or drenched, unimaginative, dull • I managed to get my pants all wet by sitting on the sodden ground. • Sodden with drink and sleep, he could barely form a sentence.

SPENDTHRIFT

SPENDTHRIFT (SPEND thrift) n one who spends money wastefully • Olivia was an incorrigible spendthrift; she bought things she would never use and didn't even particularly like. Spendthrift can also be an adjective. • Their spendthrift extravagance soon exhausted their small bank account.

SPLENETIC

SPLENETIC (spli NET ik) adj bad-tempered, irritable • The patient became particularly splenetic whenever his spleen was bothering him, so the nurses stayed out of his room those days. • Her boss became splenetic whenever anyone asked him about a raise; nothing seemed to irritate him more. Splenetic also means relating to the spleen, which was the seat of ill temper in classical knowledge.

SUCCINCT

SUCCINCT (suk SINKT) adj brief, concise • Although he had vowed to keep his introduction succinct, he still ended up speaking for a longer time that all of the main speakers combined. • This sentence is succinct.

SUCCOR

SUCCOR (SUH kur) n assistance, relief in time of distress • The brief rain did not provide much succor to the farmers who were losing their crops to drought. • The town's inhabitants sought succor in the emergency shelters during and after the hurricane.

TABLE

TABLE (TAY bul) v to remove (as a parliamentary motion) from consideration • Unsurprisingly, the council tabled the students' motion to reduce the school day by half for the fifth year in a row. • Because the meeting had already gone two hours longer than scheduled, the remaining agenda items had to be tabled until the next month.

TAWDRY

TAWDRY (TAW dree) ad] cheap, gaudy, showy, tacky, indecent • Claire bought all sorts of tawdry jewelry to complete her Halloween costume when she dressed as an Old West saloon singer. • The tabloid specialized in revealing the tawdry secrets of minor celebrities.

TORPID

TORPID (TOR pid) adj lethargic, sluggish, dormant • We were torpid with exhaustion and could barely move after walking fifteen miles back to camp. Torpor is a state of inactivity or lethargy. • The cat fell into torpor after his catnip-induced frenzy and went to sleep in a patch of sunlight in the living room.

TORQUE

TORQUE (tork) n a force that causes rotation • Gary was having a difficult time generating enough torque to get the wheel to spin on its own. • A torque wrench measures the amount of force being used to tighten a nut or bolt in order to ensure that it is tight enough not to come loose but not too tight.

UNTOWARD

UNTOWARD (un TOW urd) adj troublesome, unruly, unseemly, adverse • I was always impressed that Shelly managed to remain upbeat under even the most untoward situations. • There was a rumor going around that something untoward had occurred in the principal's office the night before.

touchstone

a basis for comparison (e.g. "e.g. "standardized tests are a touchstone by which a teacher can compare all of his/her students' abilities in major subjects against national averages")

liaison

a channel for communication between groups; a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship (e.g. "Dr. Smith will serve as a liaison between the different rebel groups.")

gamut

a complete extent or range (e.g. "the buffet contains the whole gamut of options for food, from french fries to filet mignon")

depravity

a corrupt or depraved or degenerate act or practice ("e.g. "some people might say that watching TV constitutes the utmost depravity; however, I disagree")

infraction

a crime less serious than a felony (e.g. "murder is more than a minor infraction")

stratagem

a maneuver in a game or conversation; an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade (e.g. "I tried to invent a stratagem which would allow me to get out of doing my chores; it did not succeed.")

specter

a mental representation of some haunting experience; a ghostly appearing figure (e.g. "The specter approached me slowly; my feet were rooted to the floor.")

repercussion

a movement back from an impact (e.g. "the repercussions of the Dred Scott decision in 1857 were felt until after the Civil War")

gaffe

a socially awkward or tactless act (e.g. "when Howard burped loudly at the table, everyone else at the table considered it to be a gaffe")

slavish

abjectly submissive (e.g. "his slavish devotion to his boss is sickening")

celibacy

abstaining from sexual relations (as because of religious vows) (e.g. "Most monks in the early Catholic Church were supposed to practice celibacy.") কৌমার্য

avow

admit openly and bluntly (e.g. "The defendant avowed that he was the murderer.") কবুল করা, শপথপূর্বক বলা, সত্য বলিয়া ঘোষণা করা

repartee

adroitness and cleverness in reply (e.g. "In the play 'Cyrano de Bergerac', the main character, Cyrano, is an extremely witty character; his use of repartee is admirable and extremely effective.")

dejected

affected or marked by low spirits (e.g. "I felt dejected after getting an F on my paper")

disservice

an act intended to help that turns out badly (e.g. "his mother did him a disservice by overfeeding him; he now weighs 500 pounds and is liable to have a heart attack")

forte

an asset of special worth or utility (e.g. "although he is reasonably good at everything, mathematics is his forte")

deity

any supernatural being worshiped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force (e.g. "some animistic cultures regard virtually everything as a deity -- trees, water, the sky, etc.")

atrophy

any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use) (e.g. "the former weightlifter reminisced on his better days, trying not to look at his badly atrophied muscles") ক্রমিক ক্ষয়প্রাপ্তি , অবনতি , অবক্ষয় , পতন

sloth

apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue (personified as one of the deadly sins) (e.g. "sloth is not good, because if one is slothful, then he is wasting time which could have been better spent")

precocious

appearing or developing early; characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental aptitude) (e.g. "Albert Einstein was a precocious child, even though his teacher claimed that he wouldn't ever accomplish anything in life.")

advent

arrival that has been awaited (especially of something momentous) (e.g. "the advent of tablet devices may eventually cause the traditional computer to become obsolete") আবির্ভাব

entreat

ask for or request earnestly (e.g. "the beggar entreated the rich businessman to give him a few pennies")

beset

assail or attack on all sides (e.g. "The zebra was beset by leopards.") পরিবৃত করা

ostracize

avoid speaking to or dealing with; expel from a community or group (e.g. "Kennie was ostracized from the meeting of senior citizens when it was discovered that he was not yet 65 -- he was only 64.")

frugal

avoiding waste (e.g. "the difference between frugality and stinginess is this: the frugal person will spend only enough money to buy what he really needs, but the stingy person won't buy anything at all")

hypothetical

based on hypothesis (e.g. "hypothetically, wormholes may exist in outer space; however, there is no empirical proof for this")

afford

be able to spare or give up (e.g. "although I would like to buy the restaurant, I'm afraid I can't afford it")

delude

be false to (e.g. "Jim deluded Bob into thinking Jim was his friend, when Jim was really a charlatan wanting to take his money")

pivotal

being of crucial importance (e.g. "the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 is regarded as a pivotal moment in history; in fact, as a result of it, 1453 is considered by some to be the beginning of the modern era")

sacrilege

blasphemous behavior (e.g. "the nonexistent 'Fanatical Chocolate Lovers of America' society might consider it sacrilege to comment that chocolate, in large doses, can be very unhealthy")

exemplify

clarify by giving an example of (e.g. "Please notice that I exemplify each vocabulary word by having an example next to its definition")

vindicate

clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting proof (e.g. "the defendant was vindicated when it was discovered that someone else had committed the murder")

vie

compete for something (e.g. "The nobles vied for possession of the throne.")

cordial

courteous and gracious; friendly; warm (e.g. "he was greeted with a cordial welcome by the inhabitants of the house") আন্তরিক , বন্ধুত্বপূর্ণ , উত্তেজক , আরামদায়ক

perjury

criminal offense of making false statements under oath (e.g. "Tim committed perjury when he said under oath that he had not committed perjury two days before")

rigorous

demanding strict attention to rules and procedures (e.g. "a rigorous study of geometry can be fairly difficult; the style of formal proofs can be somewhat intimidating")

stringent

demanding strict attention to rules and procedures (e.g. "the teacher's stringent rules are draconian to such an extent that all of the students hate her")

abnegate

deny or renounce (e.g. "The CEO abnegated his right to arbitrarily change his employees' wages.") বিলোপ করা , রদ করা , খারিজ করা

depose

dethrone; remove from office; give a deposition; testify (e.g. "the rebels deposed the current king and placed one of their number on the throne as his replacement")

conspicuous

easy to notice; obvious (e.g. "one conspicuous change which occurred directly after the rebels captured the country is that the country suffered an economic downturn") দৃষ্টি-আকর্ষণকারী , স্পষ্টলক্ষিত

decry

express strong disapproval of (e.g. "the early American patriots decried the idea of taxation without representation")

complicity

guilt as an accomplice in a crime or offense (e.g. "Although Sharon's complicity in the crime is disputed by some -- mostly her relatives -- it is accepted by the police that she was an accomplice to the murderer.")দুষ্কর্মে সহায়তা বা অংশগ্রহণ

intricate

highly involved (e.g. "The plot was so convoluted and intricate that I couldn't follow it.")

infinitesimal

infinitely or immeasurably small (e.g. "Calculus could be considered the study of infinitesimals, the study of the infinitely small")

omniscient

infinitely wise (e.g. "How could he have possibly known what I was thinking? Is he omniscient or something?")

disdain

lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike (e.g. "the wine connoisseur mentioned in the last example has a feeling of disdain for all lesser wines")

wizened

lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness (e.g. "His wizened face beamed happiness at my arrival.")

protract

lengthen in time (e.g. "the protracted negotiations for a new peace treaty ended in failure")

literal

limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text (e.g. "Donald believes that the moon is made of green cheese. Figuratively speaking, this could be considered an intellectual fetter. However, it could not be considered a literal fetter, because his belief does not literally consist of shackles binding him")

dispirit

lower someone's spirits (e.g. "I was dispirited when I got all Fs on my report card")

disinformation

misinformation that is deliberately disseminated in order to influence or confuse rivals (foreign enemies or business competitors etc.) (e.g. "the one country disseminated disinformation about the size of its armed forces so that the country with which it had a very tenuous peace wouldn't consider it prudent to attack it")

incredulous

not disposed or willing to believe (e.g. "When I lied to Jimmy and told him that scientists had just discovered that the Earth was flat, not round, he was incredulous; he didn't believe me.")

exquisite

of extreme beauty; intense or sharp (e.g. "when stabbed, one feels exquisite pain")

allusion

passing reference or indirect mention (e.g. "His numerous allusions to Shakespeare in his speech led me to believe that he was a very well-read man.") পরোক্ষ উল্লেখ বা ইঙ্গিত

zenith

peak; pinnacle (e.g. "The zenith of the authority of kings and monarchs was arguably during the late Middle Ages.")

destitute

poor enough to need help from others (e.g. "many religions say that their followers should help the destitute to survive")

porcine

relating to or suggesting swine (e.g. "Many porcine products, such as sausage and bacon, are sold in stores.")

rustic

rural (e.g. "I believed that the rustic setting was perfect for a painting")

brevity

the attribute of being brief or fleeting (e.g. "Brevity is not one of Leo's virtues: the shortest sentence he ever wrote was at least as long as three normal-sized paragraphs.") সংক্ষিপ্ততা

criterion

the ideal in terms of which something can be judged (e.g. "Marie's sole criterion for a good meal is, 'is it eatable?'")

demise

the time when something ends (e.g. "curiosity killed the cat; curiosity was the cat's tragic flaw and played a direct role in his demise")

CATALYST

CATALYST (KAT uh list) n a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change • Enzymes are common biological catalysts which regulate the speed of many critical processes in the human body. • Steve was hoping the romantic music would be all the catalyst the evening needed. To catalyze is to act as a catalyst, to bring about. • Some argue that while the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand catalyzed World War I, the war would still have happened in the absence of his death, even if it might have begun some months or years later.

CAUSALITY

CAUSALITY (kaw ZAL uh tee) n the relationship between cause and effect • The fact that Caroline saw a stork the week before she became pregnant is merely a coincidence; it should not imply any causality whatsoever. • Because the experiment tested so many factors at the same time, it is difficult to prove the causality of one agent over another.

CAUSTIC

CAUSTIC (KAW stik) adj burning or stinging; causing corrosion • Even washing her hands repeatedly couldn't stop the stinging of the caustic bleach she had used on her clothes. • Her caustic wit was legendary—everyone enjoyed reading Sandra's articles as long as he or she was not the target of her humor.

CENSURE

CENSURE (SEN Shur) v to criticize severely; to officially rebuke • Though the board censured the gallery for holding the exhibition, the event continued as planned, and even drew larger crowds than expected before the board's outspoken disapproval. n a judgment involving condemnation; the act of blaming or condemning • The chairman's misdeeds were only made public and held up to censure once it became certain that the board members could not be implicated. Censorious (note the spelling) is an adjective that means tending to or expressing censure.

CHAOS

CHAOS (KAY ahs) n a condition of confusion or unpredictability • Some seem to thrive on chaos in the workplace, but Lucy relishes a clean desk and predictable schedule. Chaotic is an adjective that describes a state of chaos. • When Shigeru arrived home after being robbed, he found his apartment in a chaotic state. Originally, the Greek word for chaos meant space, or emptiness (think chasm), but now it has more to do with disorder.

chutzpah

(Yiddish) unbelievable gall (e.g. "after eating six plates of spaghetti, I cannot believe that even you could have the chutzpah to pretend that you are still hungry")

bromide

(a drug that makes a person calm); a statement that is intended to make people feel happier or calmer but that is not original or effective (e.g "the essay was full of bromides and not much original thought") বিরক্তিকর ব্যক্তি, মামুলি মন্তব্য, রাসায়নিক পদার্থবিশেষ, নীরস মন্তব্য

accord

(n.) agreement, harmony; (v.) to agree, be in harmony or bring into harmony; to grant, bestow on (e.g. "although I thought that I would have to force Dick to eat his vegetables, to my astonishment he did so of his own accord")

exempt

(of persons) freed from or not subject to an obligation or liability (as e.g. taxes) to which others or other things are subject (e.g. "the king was exempt from paying taxes, because all tax money went to him anyway")

crass

(of persons) so unrefined as to be lacking in discrimination and sensibility (e.g. "it seemed crass to me when my friend started yelling across the room at someone who my friend mistakenly thought had intended to offend him") নিতান্ত , অতিমাত্রায় , চরম , বেজায় , চূড়ান্ত , স্থূল , নিরেট

susceptible

(often followed by 'of' or 'to') yielding readily to or capable of; easily impressed emotionally (e.g. "As it is, our fortress is completely susceptible to enemy attack; we have no defensive fortifications whatsoever.")

myopia

(ophthalmology) eyesight abnormality resulting from the eye's faulty refractive ability; also used metaphorically (e.g. "the politician's political myopia did not allow him to see the long-term consequences of the bill he was proposing")

catharsis

(psychoanalysis) the act or process of releasing a strong emotion (such as pity or fear) especially by expressing it in an art form (e.g. "The mentally distressed man underwent a catharsis during his visit to the countryside.") বিশোধন, রেচন

extrovert

(psychology) a person concerned more with practical realities than with inner thoughts and feelings (e.g. "Tom possesses an extroverted personality; that is, he socializes well and makes friends easily")

depict

(v.) to portray; to represent or show in the form of a picture (e.g. "I believe that the artist's depiction of the pastoral scene is really very good; it seems almost lifelike")

deploy

(v.) to position or arrange; to utilize; to form up (e.g. "the king deployed all of his troops for battle")

excise

(v.) to remove by cutting; (n.) an indirect tax on the manufacture, sale, or distribution of a commodity or service (e.g. "the surgeon excised the tumor from the patient's rear")

convey

(v.) to transport; to transmit; to communicate, make known; to transfer ownership or title to (e.g. "I found it hard to convey Einstein's Theory of Relativity to the four-year-old")

CHARY

CHARY (CHAR ee) ad] wary; cautious; sparing • Claudette was chary with her praise lest it go to Fredrick's head. • Chary of revealing his hiding place, Fido only reluctantly led us to the spot behind the sofa where we discovered a stash of fifty dog bones.

CHASTEN

CHASTEN (CHAY sun) v to chastise or correct; subdue • The "time out" seems to have become a common parental means of chastening younger children, somewhat similar to being forced to sit in the corner wearing a dunce cap, but without the element of public humiliation. • The piano teacher knew it would be difficult to chasten the student's rebellious spirit without breaking it. The trick was to get her to sit still long enough to learn something without destroying her spontaneous creativity. Chastened as an adjective means corrected, punished, or humbled. • Rita was chastened by the effect her thoughtlessness had on those around her, and she resolved to consider her actions more carefully in the future.

ABATE

ABATE (uh BAYT) v to lessen in intensity or degree • We realized with great relief that the storm had abated before breaking through the sea wall. • Attempts by the administration to abate the intensity of the controversy were mostly unsuccessful; it continued to consume everyone's attention. Abatement is a lessening in amount or degree. • The city's new noise abatement plan targeted live music venues, but many people felt the focus should be on decreasing the number of low flying airplanes passing over the city.

ABERRANT

ABERRANT (A bur unt) ad] deviating from the norm • Jim's aberrant behavior at the dance raised some eyebrows; he was certainly the only one who spent the night walking (and dancing) on his hands. Someone or something aberrant is an aberration. • The D Jenny received on the chemistry test was just an aberration, since she has received only A's the rest of the semester.

ABJURE

ABJURE (ab JUR) v to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid • The reformed socialite abjured her former lifestyle and all those with whom she had previously associated. • Steve had to abjure all indulgence when he entered the training camp. For a related word, see recant.

ABROGATE

ABROGATE (AB roh gayt) v to abolish or annul by authority; put down • The court ruling abrogated the defendant's rights to any profit from the sale of the house. • Darren abrogated his responsibility to the paper when he went on vacation without submitting his article before the deadline.

ABSCISSION

ABSCISSION (ab SI zhun) n act of cutting off or removing • Dr. Carter recommended an immediate abscission of the abscess in order to minimize any further infection. Abscise means to cut off or remove. • When she called for the resignation of key legislators, the congresswoman claimed that it was the only way to abscise the corruption before it spread. Abscission can also mean the actual cut itself.

ABSCOND

ABSCOND (ab SKAHND) v to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide • Doug was left penniless when the two con men absconded with his life savings. • Raccoons are notorious for absconding and hiding shiny objects; no one knows why they need all those spoons and watches, though.

ABSTAIN

ABSTAIN (ub STAYN) v to refrain from an activity • Sheryl chose to abstain from eating chocolate, her favorite treat, for the season of Lent. The act of abstaining is called abstinence. • The old health textbook recommended abstinence from sexual activity as the primary means of birth control. Abstemious is a related word meaning marked by moderation, particularly where food and drink are concerned. • Though some regard the diet as a fad, in fact it recommends some very traditional habits, such as consuming sugar and alcohol abstemiously.

ACCOLADE

ACCOLADE (AK o layd) n an expression of praise; an award • The diva received her accolades graciously, blowing kisses to her adoring fans. • Doris so craved her coach's accolades that she showed up an hour early to every practice. The word accolade comes from a French word meaning to embrace, which, logically enough, comes from the same root as collar. You can also associate lade with laud (meaning praise), though they probably don't have the same etymological backgrounds.

ACCRETION

ACCRETION (uh KREE shun) n growth, increase by successive addition, building up • Limestone is formed by the accretion of tiny particles from objects such as shells and coral over a very, very long time. • The accretion of dirt has changed the color of the kitchen floor from white to brown, which is pretty disgusting.

ADULTERATE

ADULTERATE (uh DUL tur ayt) v to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients • There was a huge scandal when customers discovered that the health food store had been adulterating the wheat grass juice with clippings from the front lawn. • In an effort to determine why the house's foundation was crumbling, the inspectors tested the concrete to see if it had been improperly adulterated when it was mixed. Adulteration is the process or effect of adulterating. Unadulterated, appropriately enough, means pure. • I could tell that what her used car salesman was saying was one hundred percent, pure, unadulterated hogwash.

ADUMBRATE

ADUMBRATE (a DUM brayt) v to foreshadow vaguely, intimate, suggest, or outline sketchily • The possibilities for further cooperation between the two parties were adumbrated at the first, private meeting, but nothing was finalized until much later. • The first volume of the trilogy only adumbrates the basics of the story that will be developed in the next two books.

ADVOCATE

ADVOCATE (AD vuh cayt) v to argue for or support a cause • Though the senator did not advocate the bill openly, he voted for it because he thought it would save him some face among his critics. A person who advocates something is called an advocate, but be careful; the noun form is pronounced differently.

AESTHETIC

AESTHETIC (es THET ik) adj dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful • Many people say they see no aesthetic value in some modern artwork, claiming the pieces look like a kindergartner's finger painting. • Her finely tuned aesthetic sensibilities made it very painful for her to be around so much baby blue polyester.

AGGRANDIZE

AGGRANDIZE (uh GRAND yz) v to increase in intensity, power, or prestige; to make appear greater • Michael's attempts to aggrandize his achievements produced the exact opposite effect; everyone ended up thinking he had accomplished less than he really had. In other words, he would have been better off without the self-aggrandizing. • The multi-million dollar advertising campaign was part of a plan to aggrandize the company's stock before it went public.

ALACRITY

ALACRITY (uh LAK ruh tee) n eager and enthusiastic willingness • Amy responded to the invitation to join the planning committee with alacrity, and even volunteered to take on additional responsibilities. • The alacrity with which Calvin offered to do the dishes made his mother suspicious; usually he would only do chores kicking and screaming.

ALCHEMY

ALCHEMY (AL kuh mee) n a magical or wonderful transformation Alchemy was originally a medieval science aimed at changing metals, particularly changing base metals into gold and silver, and the creation of a remedy that could cure all diseases. Though alchemy wouldn't be considered science today, alchemists did make some important strides in understanding chemistry. • The remarkable alchemy among the cast members transformed watching the familiar, and sometimes boring, play into a completely new experience. An alchemist practices or studies alchemy.

ALLOY

ALLOY (uh LOY) v to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior • Alloying the punch with prune juice turned out not to be such a good idea after all. • Alloy can also be a noun, in which case it is the mixture itself, as in an alloy between sitcom and game show. Unalloyed means pure. • The reviewer described the movie as an unalloyed pleasure, saying it was the first film in years in which every single minute was worth watching.

AMALGAMATE

AMALGAMATE (uh MAL guh mayt) v to combine several elements into a whole • A griffin, theoretically at least, is an amalgamation of an eagle and a lion into one mean-looking mythical creature. • It makes sense that the metal used in fillings is called an amalgam since it is a combination of mercury and silver.

AMBIGUITY

AMBIGUITY (am big YOU uh tee) n uncertainty in meaning • The ambiguity of the poem's title allows scholars to interpret it many different ways. The adjective form of the word is ambiguous. • Samir left the note purposefully ambiguous, figuring that Sonya would give him the benefit of the doubt if she wished to. Be careful; ambiguity is frequently confused with ambivalence.

AMBIVALENCE

AMBIVALENCE (am BIV uh lunts) n the quality of having opposing ideas or feelings • Nikki's ambivalence about the job offer was apparent; on one hand, the money and benefits would be better than at her current job, but on the other, she didn't want to risk losing the wonderful work environment she already had. Ambivalent is the adjective form of ambivalence. Be careful; ambivalence is often confused with ambiguity, probably because ambivalence can also mean uncertainty (par-ticularly about what course one should follow).

AMELIORATE

AMELIORATE (uh MEE lee or ayt) v to make better or more tolerable • Jonas was sure that nothing could ameliorate the taste of beets; brussels sprouts, on the other hand, could be made quite palatable with the introduction of plenty of butter. • All attempts to ameliorate the relationship between the longstanding adversaries seemed futile; they were as hostile toward one another as ever.

AMENABLE

AMENABLE (uh MEE nuh bul) adj agreeable; responsive to suggestion • If you're amenable, let's go for a walk before lunch. • The actress was known for being amenable to direction, which made her a favorite of directors. If you think you see the word amen in amenable, you're right. Amen is an expression of agreement or approval, which is why it often follows a prayer. Amenable, of course, comes from the same root.

ANACHRONISM

ANACHRONISM (uh NA krah ni zum) n something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context • The wristwatch worn by one of the characters in the period movie set in Rome in 25 B.C. was just one of the many anachronisms that spoiled the movie's credibility. • Mr. Jones' students felt his insistence on strict classroom discipline was an anachronism and that he should "get with the times."

ANATHEMA

ANATHEMA (uh NA thuh muh) n a solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing • He was an anathema to his entire town once it was revealed that he had been a secret police informant. • The precepts of eugenics became almost universally anathema around the world once the horrors of World War II began to be revealed. • Hearing the anathema pronounced against her filled her with foreboding.

ANTIPATHY

ANTIPATHY (an TI puh thee) n aversion, dislike • Sam very clearly expresses his antipathy toward certain breakfast foods in the Dr. Seuss classic, Green Eggs and Ham. • Her longstanding antipathy toward her boss was tempered with at least a little gratitude after she received her big raise and promotion. Antipathetic means showing a strong aversion. • He was completely antipathetic to any new ideas, especially any that might suggest that his way wasn't the best way. I've never met such a close-minded person!

ANTITHETICAL

ANTITHETICAL (an tuh THET i cul) adj diametrically opposed, as in antithesis • I couldn't help but feel that he always deliberately expressed a position antithetical to mine, as if he enjoyed playing devil's advocate even more than he cared about expressing what he really thought. • Nothing could be more antithetical to the spirit of sportsmanship than point shaving. The antithesis is the opposite of something. • The antithesis of poverty is wealth.

APATHY

APATHY (A puh thee) n lack of interest or feeling • There was such a pervading air of apathy in the high school that most clubs were shut down due to lack of interest. The adjective form is apathetic. • Though my pipes have been leaking for days, my landlord is so apathetic that he hasn't answered any of my phone calls or come by to fix anything. Apathy shares a root with the word pathos, which means feeling. The prefix a- means without.

APOCRYPHAL

APOCRYPHAL (uh PAH cri ful) adj of dubious authenticity or origin; spurious You may have heard this word before—or something close to it—in a religious context. The Apocrypha were religious writings that were not included in the Bible because they weren't considered canonical (see canon) by the Protestant church of the day, or their authenticity was in question. If you see the word Apocryphal with a capital A, the writer is referring to those writings specifically. • Most people believe that stories of alien abduction are apocryphal, but what if there really is a big government conspiracy and all those stories are true? • My favorite urban myth is the one about the fate of Little Mikey swallowing pop rocks and then drinking soda. I know it's apocryphal, but I still think it pays to be careful.

APOGEE

APOGEE (A poh jee) n farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith • No one could have foreseen that receiving the Pulitzer Prize at the age of eighteen would be the apogee of his career, and that nothing he produced afterward would achieve any kind of critical success. Perigee is the lowest or closest point, or the nadir. • The moon is at apogee when it is at its farthest point away from the earth in its orbit; it is at perigee is when it is closest to earth. For a related word, see nadir in this book.

APOSTATE

APOSTATE (uh PAH stayt) n one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions, a betrayer of a cause • Jordan was an apostate of modern culture; he renounced all the trappings of modem life that he used to love, and went to live in a cave. • His fellow party members were shocked when Fred became an apostate, running for office on his former opponent's ticket.

APOTHEOSIS

APOTHEOSIS (uh pah thee 0 sis) n deification, glorification to godliness, the perfect example • The apotheosis of technology in modem society seems to be reaching new highs; computers and gadgets are practically worshipped by consumers. • She is the apotheosis of nurturing motherhood; she makes soup for sick friends, nurses wounded birds, and listens to everyone's problems.

APPOSITE

APPOSITE (A pah zit) ad] appropriate, pertinent, relevant, apropos • His choice of songs for the opening ceremony was entirely apposite; everyone agreed that it was perfectly suited to the event. • The fact that she hasn't called for two weeks is hardly apposite to whether she's going to call me today, since she hadn't read my amazing love poem before.

APPRISE

APPRISE (uh PRIZ) v give notice to, inform • The officer apprised Chris of his rights before questioning him. • The shipping department left a message to apprise me of the status of the shipment, letting me know it was scheduled to arrive the following day.

APPROBATION

APPROBATION (a pruh BAY shun) n an expression of approval or praise • Providing approbation for good behavior is the best way to train puppies; the praise is particularly effective when accompanied by treats. • The judges expressed their approbation of Stephen's performance by awarding him the gold medal. To approbate is to approve something officially.

APPROPRIATE

APPROPRIATE (uh PRO pree ayt) v to take for one's own use, confiscate • As they passed through the town, both armies appropriated housing, food, and ammunition from the town's residents. Whatever hadn't been taken by the first was taken by the second, leaving the inhabitants with insufficient resources to survive the coming winter. • My friend Oscar is a natural mimic; he unintentionally appropriates the mannerisms of others until it's impossible to tell which ones are his own. Even though this word looks like one you may use and hear every day, be careful! The meaning and pronunciation are different when it is used as a verb.

ARABESQUE

ARABESQUE (ar uh BESK) n complex, ornate design • A beautiful arabesque of fruits and flowers surrounded the central pattern of the print. An arabesque is also a position in ballet, and is sometimes used metaphorically in this sense. • Her assistants performed an arabesque of practiced efficiency around her as she prepared for the press conference.

ARCANE

ARCANE (ar KAYN) adj mysterious, abstruse, esoteric, knowable only to initiates • Elizabeth was a font of arcane knowledge; she could tell you not only the names of the pets of every cabinet member of every administration, but also how many gumballs are produced annually. • Knowledge of the arcane secrets of any bureaucracy is always restricted to those who work within it. They're the only ones who know how to fill out the forms, too. Arcana are deep secrets. The singular is arcanum, but it's almost always used in the plural.

ARCHAIC

ARCHAIC (ar KAY ik) adj outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive time • Geoff's archaic leisure suit looked like it had been in storage for thirty years, and it probably should have stayed there. • The archaic instruments used in the village clinic shocked the visiting physicians.

ARDUOUS

ARDUOUS (AR juh wus) adj strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort • This is the third time since we got here that Grandpa's told us the story of his arduous trips to and from school when he was a kid—uphill in the snow both ways. • Learning all these vocab words may seem like an arduous task, but if you just learn a few a day, it will be a piece of cake, I promise.

ARRANT

ARRANT (AR unt) adj impudent; in every way, being completely such, bare-faced, utter • Don Juan's arrant philandering made him a legend. He seemed to have had the ability to turn many of his admirers into arrant fools. Don't confuse this with errant, which means itinerant.

ARREST

ARREST (uh REST) v to suspend; to engage • Sometime I think my brother's emotional development was arrested at a young age; he often acts like a five year old. • My attention was immediately arrested by the view, a breathtaking panorama of mountains and lakes that had me completely mesmerized. Arresting means holding one's attention. • It was a most arresting portrait; there was a crowd of people staring at it for hours.

ARTICULATE

ARTICULATE (ar TIK yoo layt) v to enunciate or pronounce clearly; to express oneself clearly • The new radio announcer could not be understood because he had not yet learned to articulate his words clearly. As an adjective, articulate is used to describe someone who can articulate ideas clearly. But be careful; the pronunciation changes even though the spelling doesn't. • Though she was just six years old, Misha presented a cogent and articulate argument for why she should receive an allowance.

ARTLESS

ARTLESS (ART luhs) adj completely without guile; natural, without artificiality • Her artless portrayal of the young ingenue charmed the critics, who all commented on her fresh, unaffected performance. The opposite of artless is artful. • The Artful Dodger was a cunning pickpocket in Dickens's Oliver Twist. Artful can also mean showing art or skill, and artless can mean without skill, but the definitions above are the ones more likely to be tested on the GRE.

ASCETIC

ASCETIC (uh SET ik) n one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion • A true ascetic would be able to resist eating these chocolate eclairs, which is why I know I'm not an ascetic. Ascetic can also be an adjective, meaning austere or stark. • His ascetic lifestyle was indistinguishable from that of a monk. • In keeping with Larry's ascetic taste in home furnishings, the only place to sit was the floor, which didn't even have a rug. Asceticism is the adherence to or belief in ascetic practices. To learn about practices an ascetic would not espouse, see hedonism.

ASPERITY

ASPERITY (uh SPER uh tee) n severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability • The asperity of her response to his pleas for leniency suggested that there was no chance she would be ending his detention any time in the next three months. • The asperity of a northern winter can lead to serious depression.

ASPERSION

ASPERSION (uh SPER zhun) n an act of defamation or maligning • Pete resented the aspersions cast by his opponent, who called Pete a low-down, no good snake who didn't eat his vegetables. • She had to resort to aspersions when she realized her argument wouldn't hold up against close scrutiny.

ASSIDUOUS

ASSIDUOUS (uh SID yoo us) adj diligent, hard-working • Pedro's assiduous preservation of every fragment of the document that had survived eventually allowed him to reconstruct whole stanzas of the poem. • Carla was an assiduous note-taker. She wrote down almost every word of each of her professor's lectures.

ASTRINGENT

ASTRINGENT (uh STRIN junt) adj having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe • Although she hadn't intended to be quite so harsh, Kayla's astringent remarks apparently made the board drop the proposal altogether. • Witch hazel is a mild astringent that is sometimes applied to the face.

ATTENUATE

ATTENUATE (uh TEN yoo ayt) v to rarefy, weaken or make thinner, lessen • Copper's highly ductile nature allows it to be attenuated to a thin filament without breaking, and makes it a useful material for wiring. • The atmosphere at the top of Mt. Everest is so attenuated that climbers must carry oxygen with them in order to breathe for any length of time. • The endless discussion attenuated the point until everyone lost interest in it. For a related word, see rarefy.

AUDACIOUS

AUDACIOUS (aw DAY shus) adj daring and fearless; recklessly bold • Liz is an audacious mountain climber who goes where few of her competitors dare to follow. • No matter how audacious a cartoon villain's plan for world domination may be, there always seems to be hero waiting to foil it. Audacity is the quality of being audacious. • His friends were surprised by Lewis's audacity; he just went up to the podium and started speaking, even though he wasn't on the program for the evening.

AUGURY

AUGURY (aw GYUH ree) n omen, portent, the reading of omens • Augury in ancient Rome and other societies was performed largely by interpreting the flight of birds. • His first attempts at glassblowing gave little augury of the skill he would later develop with practice. Augur means to predict if it is used as a verb, and the person or thing doing the foretelling if it's used as a noun. • The flowers my girlfriend sent augur well for the weekend.

AUGUST

AUGUST (aw GUST) adj majestic, venerable • The august presence of the pharaohs endures through the millennia, embodied in their massive tombs. • Despite his simple dress and advanced years, the august politician managed to convey a sense of dignity and subtle power.

AUSPICE

AUSPICE (AW spis) n protection or support, patronage • As long as we were working under the auspices of the local authorities, the villagers were extremely cooperative; once we headed out on our own, however, we found that no one wanted to talk to us. Auspice can also mean sign or portent. • Since the auspices seemed good, we decided to go ahead and buy thirty lottery tickets.

AUSPICIOUS

AUSPICIOUS (aw SPI shus) adj favorable, propitious, successful, prosperous • The sold-out opening night and standing ovation from the audience provided an auspicious beginning for the play's run on Broadway. • Weddings are generally considered auspicious occasions; you can tell by all the toasting and well-wishing that goes on.

AUSTERE

AUSTERE (aw STEER) adj without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic • The building's austere facade gave no indication of the rich ornamentation inside. • Lincoln's often austere appearance reflected the somber, grave side of his personality, but not his sense of humor. • The austerity of her writing style can make it seem as if her meaning is similarly simple, but she is actually known for the subtle complexity of her ideas. Austerity can also mean rigid economy. If used in this sense, it is often followed by measures. • The Prime Minister imposed austerity measures in an attempt to stop the country's downward economic spiral.

AVARICE

AVARICE (A vuh rus) n greed, especially for wealth • Her avarice for power was matched only by her lust for money; even when she had more money than she could ever spend in a lifetime, she schemed to get still more. • King Midas' avarice led him to wish for the power to turn everything he touched to gold; we know how well that worked out for him. Avaricious means greedy. • Even though the jury decided in favor of the plaintiff, it awarded very little in the way of punitive damages; the jurors apparently felt the request for 40 million dollars was avaricious.

AVER

AVER (uh VUR) v to state as a fact; to confirm or support • When the suspect solemnly averred that he had been on another planet when the burglary occurred, the investigators didn't know whether he meant it literally or figuratively, but they could tell he meant it. • Although Michelle averred that she would never be late again, her friends remained understandably skeptical.

AXIOM

AXIOM (AK see um) n a universally recognized principle; a generally accepted or common saying • It is an axiom of the American legal system that one is innocent until proven guilty. • It is hardly surprising that every field has its axioms, which are universally held within the discipline; what can be surprising is how often they are mutually incompatible when compared across fields. The adjective form of this word is axiomatic, which means generally accepted or taken as a given. • In this society, we take it as axiomatic that individual merit rather than family name should be the basis for success in life. • Nowadays it is axiomatic that most contagious diseases are caused by microscopic organisms, but it wasn't long ago that most people thought these diseases were caused by everything from harmful vapors to personality traits.

CHIC

CHIC (sheek) adj stylish and fashionable; sophistication in dress • As a true native New Yorker, Kenya remained a chic dresser long after she moved to Kansas; it's too bad there was no one there to appreciate her sense of style. • Jorge opened a chic boutique near the affluent suburb, to cater to shoppers with fashionable tastes and expendable incomes.

CHICANERY

CHICANERY (shi KAYN uh ree) n trickery or subterfuge • Bernard's reputation for legal chicanery made judges and prosecutors distrust him, but his clients had a hard time seeing past his successes. • I refuse to let such chicanery go unpunished!

BALEFUL

BALEFUL (BAYL ful) adj sinister, pernicious, ominous • The basilisk is a notoriously cranky, albeit mythical, creature whose baleful glare is fatal. Looks, glances, and glares are more often baleful than anything else is, but other things can be baleful too. • A sort of baleful miasma lingered in the room after the infamous Sir Evildoer departed in a swirl of black and red cape.

BELIE

BELIE (bih LYE) v to give a false impression of, to misrepresent • Carlos' disapproving countenance was belied by the twinkle in his eye, making it hard to believe that he was angry at all. • Gabriela's seeming clumsiness belied her true grace as a dancer.

CHIMERA

CHIMERA (kye MEER uh) n an illusion The chimera was originally an imaginary fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology. Its body was an amalgam of different animals, and sighting it was a bad omen. In today's speech, though, none of these bad connotations remain. • Walter Mitty's life was a series of chimeras; the fantastic daydreams in which he starred were completely real to him. Chimerical means illusory or improbable. • The fantastic successes of some internet start-ups turned out to be chimerical once the tech boom ended.

BENIGN

BENIGN (buh NYN) ad] favorable, harmless In medicine, we often hear benign describe a tumor that is not cancerous, though it certainly has other uses. • Though we were afraid the tumor would be fatal, a biopsy showed that it was, in fact, benign. • The pictures taken of the millionaire in the years before his death show a curmudgeonly scowl, but the ones taken of him as a young man show him beaming with a gentle and benign expression. Many words that start with ben- have a positive connotation, such as benefit, benefactor, and benediction. Words that start with ma!-, on the other hand, usually have a negative connotation. See malevolent for some more examples.

BENT

BENT (bent) n leaning, inclination, proclivity, tendency • Puck was notorious for his mischievous bent; wherever there was trouble to be stirred up, he was certain to be found. • Mike's bent for self-destructive behavior worried his friends.

BLANDISH

BLANDISH (BLAND ish) v to coax with flattery, toady or fawn • The minister was famous for his ability to blandish his way from obscurity to vicarious power; it seemed as if every ruler was receptive to bootlicking. Blandishment is flattery intended to cajole or coax. • Blandishment plus a really big present might convince me to forgive you. Be careful not to confuse this with brandish, which means to shake or wave menacingly.

BOISTEROUS

BOISTEROUS (BOY stur us) ad] loud, noisy, rough, lacking restraint • After a while, our neighbors became reconciled to our boisterous weekend gatherings, even joining us on occasion; the rest of the time they were probably wearing earplugs. • A popular image of the Wild West is the boisterous saloon where the piano player pounds out songs while the burlesque dancers perform the Can Can.

BOLSTER

BOLSTER (BOL stur) v to provide support or reinforcement • He hoped his frequent references to legal theory would bolster his argument, but all they did was make him seem pompous. • I tried to bolster my confidence with some slow deep breaths, but I just ended up hyperventilating. I would have been better off picturing the audience in their underwear or having a stiff shot of whisky.

BUCOLIC

BUCOLIC (byoo KAH lik) adj rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants • Pastoral poetry tends to depict bucolic wonderlands of shepherds tending their flocks in verdant meadows, but poets always leave out the part about getting up at five o'clock in the morning to take those flocks out to graze. • Their plans for a life of bucolic tranquility were rudely shattered when they discovered the rolling fields pictured in the brochure for their new house were really part of a busy golf course.

BURNISH

BURNISH (BUR nish) v to polish, rub to a shine • Be careful about burnishing certain old lamps; you never know which one is going to have a genie in it, and history shows that those three wishes lead to no good. • Attempts to burnish the former council member's image were useless; he would forever be remembered as the one whose toupee was stolen by a bird during the Fourth of July parade.

BYZANTINE

BYZANTINE (BI zan teen) adj labrynthine, complex • Tom's byzantine explanation of why he missed curfew was confusing even to his parents who were used to his convoluted punishment-avoidance strategies. • I can't stand playing cards with Max because he makes up such byzantine rules that even he can't keep track of them. You may occasionally see this word with a capital B, in which case it is referring to the city of Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire.

CHOLERIC

CHOLERIC (KAHL er ik) adj tending toward anger • Choleric by nature, the boxer had no trouble mentally preparing to face his opponent. According to Aristotle, choleric personalities were supposed to be caused by too much stomach bile. This book contains vocabulary words based on three other personality types that he identified based on bodily fluids... can you find the rest?

CHURLISH

CHURLISH (CHUB lish) adj boorish, vulgar, loutish; difficult and intractable • Underneath Mr. Oleander's churlish exterior, there's a nice guy hiding somewhere; it's just hard to tell because he is so rude most of the time. A churl is someone who is churlish. • Since everyone knew that Brad became a churl whenever he'd had too much to drink, they were just waiting for him to start saying inappropriate things and getting into fights at the party.

benediction

Blessing (e.g. "after the man gave a brief benediction asking God to bless the food, he started to eat") গির্জার উপাসনার পর পুরোহিত কর্তৃক উচ্চারিত আশীর্বচন

COALESCE

COALESCE (ko uh LES) v to come together; to fuse or unite • It took a major internal crisis for the rival factions to coalesce around a single goal. • Cosmologists theorize that matter began to coalesce into stars and galaxies about one billion years after the Big Bang.

CODA

CODA (KO duh) n concluding section to a musical or literary piece, something that concludes or completes • The presentation of the lifetime achievement award was a fitting coda both to the evening and to his years of work with the organization.

COGENT

COGENT (KO junt) adj appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing • I'll only let you borrow the Ferrari if you can give me a cogent reason for why you need to drive more than one hundred miles per hour. • He may have gotten the day off because his argument for why he deserved it was so cogent, or it could just have been that it was Saturday and he wasn't scheduled to work anyway.

COLOR

COLOR (KUH lur) v to change as if by dyeing, influence, distort, or gloss over Though color is a simple enough word in everyday speech, its secondary definition is often tested on the GRE. • Knowing that he had lied about his previous experience colored our evaluation of his application. • He may have colored the truth a little bit when he said he had jogged 20 miles, because he probably hadn't run more than two.

COMMENSURATE

COMMENSURATE (kuh MEN sur it) adj matching, corresponding, or proportionate in degree, size, amount, or other property • Although Allen's salary at the Department of Social Work was hardly commensurate with his work experience and previous salary history, the challenge of the job and the feeling that he was giving back to the community made it worth his while. Only if the team won the national championship would the fans feel the team's performance was commensurate with its potential.

COMPLAISANCE

COMPLAISANCE (kum PLAY sunts) n the willingness to comply with the wishes of others • A "yes man" is characterized by his complaisance. Complaisant means showing a willingness to please. • The patriarch was most likely to be complaisant after he had eaten a sumptuous meal, so everyone saved his or her requests for such a time. Don't confuse this with complacent, which means self-satisfied.

CONFOUND

CONFOUND (kun FOWND) v to cause to be confused; to frustrate • By the time my roommate and I parted ways, our things were such a confounded mess that it was hard to remember what belonged to whom. You probably already recognize the prefix con- (or corn-), which often means joining or bringing things together. Confound means to mix together or confuse things. To be confused is to be confounded.

CONNOISSEUR

CONNOISSEUR (kah nuh SOUR) n an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert • An internationally recognized connoisseur of wines, Natasha was often hired as a consultant for private collectors. • Did you know that some people call themselves connoisseurs of water?

CONSEQUENTIAL

CONSEQUENTIAL (kahn suh KWEN shut) ad] pompous, self-important Be careful; this is one of those words with multiple definitions. The primary definitions are: logically following; important, but on the GRE it is more likely to be used as we've defined it here. • Although he thought himself a respected and well-liked man, his consequential air was intensely annoying to those around him. He seemed to think he was the best thing since sliced bread.

CONTEMN

CONTEMN (kun TEM) v to scorn or despise • I contemn their attempts to curry favor; nothing is more contemptible than a sycophant. Be careful not to confuse this with condemn, which seems very similar, but means to pronounce judgment against.

CONTRITE

CONTRITE (kun TRYT) adj regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness • Wayne was hardly contrite for the practical joke he pulled; even though he said he was sorry, the twinkle in his eye and barely suppressed grin seemed to indicate otherwise. • David's contrite words were long overdue; if he had made his apologies last week, his sister would have been a lot more willing to accept them. Contrition is regret or remorse. • Once she expressed genuine contrition for wrecking my car I was willing to forgive her, though she would still have to pay for the damages.

CONVENTION

CONVENTION (kun VEN shun) n a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude • The convention of wearing a bridal veil was apparently begun by the Romans, who thought the veil would protect the bride from evil spirits. • The conventions of modem poetry are much less rigid than those of classical poetry; in fact, it is difficult to find any two poets or critics who could even agree on definitions, much less rules.

CONVOLUTED

CONVOLUTED (KAHN vuh loo ted) adj complex or complicated • Cynthia's convoluted response to the question made her listeners think she was concealing something; it was as if she hoped they would forget the question as they tried to follow her answer. • I do not know by what convoluted reasoning you arrived at the idea that you should have three weeks extra vacation, but I can't argue with the conclusion!

CACOPHONY

CACOPHONY (ca CAH fo nee) n harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance • The cacophony coming from the construction site next door made it impossible to concentrate on the test. • It was a testament to unconditional love that the parents of the kindergartners could call the cacophony of the band recital "music." Some of them even seemed to enjoy the screeching racket. For a related word see dissonance.

CADGE

CADGE (kaj) v to sponge, beg, or mooch • He was always cadging change from me, which added up to a lot of money over time, so eventually I presented him with a loan statement and started charging interest.

CAJOLE

CAJOLE (kuh JOL) v to inveigle, coax, wheedle, sweet-talk • Even though I resolve not to give in, my dog is always able to cajole an extra dog biscuit out of me just by looking at me with his big brown eyes. • I can't believe Wendy cajoled her way out of another mess; all she has to do is smile sweetly and everyone agrees to her every demand.

CALUMNIATE

CALUMNIATE (kuh LUM nee ayt) v to slander, make a false accusation • Tom calumniated his rival by accusing him of having been unfaithful, but it backfired because when the truth came out, Tom ended up looking petty and deceitful. Calumny means slander, aspersion. • Whenever she was afraid someone would discover her own incompetence, she would resort to calumnies and claim everyone else was doing a bad job.

CANON

CANON (KA nun) n an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature • She was forever violating the canons of polite conversation by asking questions that were far too personal for the circumstances. • Adhering to the dictates of his religion's canon meant that he couldn't eat pork. Canonical means following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards. • The canonical status of the standard literary classics has been challenged by the emergence of the work of feminist and third-world scholars, among others.

CAPRICIOUS

CAPRICIOUS (kuh PRI shus) adj inclined to change one's mind impulsively; erratic; unpredictable • Lee's capricious behavior this weekend shouldn't have come as much of a shock; it's not as if he's usually all that stable and predictable. Having caprices (sudden changes of mind or actions) makes you capricious, which then means that you can be described as tending toward capriciousness.

CARDINAL

CARDINAL (KAHRD nul) adj of basic importance or consequence; primary • His cardinal error was in failing to bribe his sister; otherwise his parents might never have found out about the party and grounded him. • According to classical definition, the cardinal virtues are: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude.

CARET

CARET (KAR ut) n an insertion mark (A) used by editors and proofreaders • The manuscript was littered with carets indicating all the missing letters the proofreaders had found.

CARNALITY

CARNALITY (kahr NAL uh tee) n something relating to the body or flesh • Though the book was primarily concerned with spiritual matters, its descriptions of earthly pleasures were sometimes shocking in their sheer carnality. Carnal desires are those that relate to bodily or sexual appetite. • Mac intended the carnival ride as an aphrodisiac, but the effects of the spinning actually dampened any carnal desires that were already there. It may seem a little odd, but the word carnage is related—it means physical remains.

CASTIGATION

CASTIGATION (KAS tuh GAY shun) n severe criticism or punishment • Harriet's expression as she slunk out of the room indicated that the castigation she had received was even worse than expected, and that we were probably in for a similar tongue-lashing. • The rack was one of the many gruesome tools of castigation available to the medieval torturer.

KINETIC

KINETIC (ki NET ik) ad] having to do with motion; lively; active A kinetic personality is a lively, active, moving personality. • Our new public relations hire has a kinetic personality.

LABILE

LABILE (LAY byl) adj readily open to change, unstable • He was so emotionally labile that he could be crying one minute and laughing the next. • Radioactive isotopes are labile because they undergo change.

LACONIC

LACONIC (luh KAHN ik) adj using few words; terse • We took her "good" as high praise indeed, since that was more than our laconic band teacher usually said in a whole week. • His laconic public persona was just a front; once you got to know him he wouldn't shut up. Need an antonym? Garrulous and loquacious are both opposites to laconic.

LASSITUDE

LASSITUDE (LAS uh tood) n listlessness, languor, weariness • Those two push-ups I attempted filled me with lassitude for the rest of the day. • It wouldn't be so bad to be in a constant state of lassitude as long as I could have someone to wave palm fronds over me and feed me grapes, since I would be too exhausted to do it myself.

LAUD

LAUD (land) v to praise highly • His first novel was so universally lauded that it seemed almost impossible that his second book could live up to the expectations. • It is a good idea to laud your partner's skills at house cleaning; otherwise you'll just end up having to do more of it yourself.

LAVISH

LAVISH (LAV ish) ad] extravagant • No expense was spared in giving the astronauts a lavish homecoming, complete with welcome feasts and a parade down Fifth Avenue, after their arduous mission. As a verb, to lavish is to bestow something in great quantities, or to cover liberally.

LETHARGIC

LETHARGIC (luh THAR jik) ad] characterized by lethargy or sluggishness • Though Ryan loves to run through 18 holes of disc golf in 100-degree weather, I am left too lethargic to so much as pick up my bag. The noun form of lethargic is lethargy. • Ben can sit on the balcony for hours doing almost nothing, but his seeming lethargy is actually an intense concentration that most people don't reach because of all of their activity.

LIBERTINE

LIBERTINE (LIB ur teen) n someone unrestrained by morality or convention or leading a dissolute life • We discovered that she was quite the libertine when it was revealed that she was having affairs on three different continents at the same time. • Casanova has become the archetypal libertine in popular culture, the very embodiment of a single-minded pursuit of pleasure. Libertine can also be an adjective, as in his libertine disregard for the moral conventions of the day.

LIMN

LIMN (lim) v to draw, outline in detail • The painter limned the old man's face in such exquisite and expressive lines that it almost looked as if he might open his mouth and speak. • The surveyors limned the valley in order to provide an exact topographical map for the construction crew to follow.

LIMPID

LIMPID (LIM pud) adj transparent, serene, clear and simple in style, untroubled • The once-limpid pond had become a nasty soup of algae, beer cans, and a random tennis shoe or two. • The article's limpid style was a welcome break from the dense and convoluted theoretical stuff I'd been reading for days; in other words, its limpidity was a relief.

LIST

LIST (list) v to tilt or lean to one side • The ship listed to one side after running aground on a rock and filling partially with water. • After a little too much celebrating, he was listing badly to one side and threatening to topple over as he walked up the front steps.

LOQUACIOUS

LOQUACIOUS (loh KWAY shus) adj extremely talkative • I knew something had to be wrong when my usually loquacious friend didn't say a word for two whole minutes. • His loquacity was legendary; in fact, he held the county record for uninterrupted talking at three days, ten hours and fourteen minutes.

LUCID

LUCID (LOO sud) adj intelligible, sound, clear • The lucid water in the tidepool allowed us to see the bottom clearly. • Despite the lucidity of Lucia's explanation, which allowed me to understand the concept for the first time, I remained skeptical about the method's practicality.

LUMBER

LUMBER (LUM bur) v to move heavily and clumsily or with a rumbling sound • The truck lumbered about like a drunken dinosaur. • His usually lumbering gait gave no hint to his remarkable grace as a skater.

MAGNANIMITY

MAGNANIMITY (mag nuh NIM i tee) n the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, especially in forgiving • Her magnanimity in forgiving all those who had opposed her ensured that she would be well liked even by her former enemies. • He was magnanimous to a fault; he would give his last penny to anyone who asked for it.

MALEVOLENT

MALEVOLENT (muh LE voh lent) ad] having or showing often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred • The malevolent villain was so mean that she didn't even like puppies or flowers; now that's mean! • It's a good thing that his malevolence was only matched by his inability to plan things; a lot more of his evil plots would have worked out if he hadn't gotten the timing wrong. Have you ever noticed how many words beginning with mal- mean bad things? Malevolent, malignant, malfunction... the list goes on. Words beginning with ben-, on the other hand, tend to have positive meanings. Refer to the entry for benign for some examples.

MALINGER

MALINGER (muh LING ur) v to feign illness so as to avoid work • Her boss suspected her of malingering until she brought a note from her doctor. • If I were you, I'd take "expert malingerer" off my resume.

MALLEABLE

MALLEABLE (MAL ee uh bul) ad] capable of being shaped or formed, easily influenced • I wouldn't put too much importance on his agreement with your argument; he's so malleable that he's likely to agree with the next person he meets as well. • Gold's malleability makes it a useful metal for jewelry, since it is so easy to shape.

MARTIAL

MARTIAL (MAR shul) ad] associated with war and the armed forces • When civil war broke out, the military imposed martial law for the duration of the conflict. • Sparta was known for its martial culture, in which almost every aspect of life was tied into preparing for battle.

MARTINET

MARTINET (marti NET) n a rigid disciplinarian • Sister Paul Marie is a sweet and generous person, but she is a martinet when it comes to teaching grammar, and few people passed her class on the first try. The adjective form of martinet is martinetish. • My martinetish study hall teacher didn't make my sixth period very relaxing, but boy did I get my homework done! The word martinet is named for Jean Martinet, a seventeenth-century French drillmaster who insisted on absolute adherence to the rules.

MAUNDER

MAUNDER (MAHN dur) v to talk or move aimlessly, mutter • After we maundered about for over three hours I started to suspect that our guide didn't have the slightest idea where he was going. • His endless maundering on about nothing started to get on my nerves until I wanted to shout, "Get to the point!"

MAVERICK

MAVERICK (MAV rik) n an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party • Always the maverick, Lola insisted on going right whenever everyone else went left. Maverick can also be an adjective. • The maverick politician refused to seek safety in numbers by following the consensus; instead, she stuck to her principles regardless of the consequences to her popularity. Technically, a maverick is an unbranded animal such as a cow.

MELANCHOLY

MELANCHOLY (MEL un kahl ee) adj tending toward sadness • Hamlet is the epitome of a melancholy character: he dresses in black, talks to skulls, and rambles on at length about whether to kill himself. According to Aristotle, too much liver bile caused melancholy personalities. This book contains vocabulary words based on three other personality types that he identified based on bodily fluids.. .can you find the rest?

MELLIFLUOUS

MELLIFLUOUS (mel I floo us) adj sweetly flowing, usually used to describe words or sounds • The mellifluous sound of her voice lulled me to sleep, though this wasn't what she had in mind since she was trying to chastise me. • The mellifluous tones of the quartet's performance made the audience smile.

MENDACITY

MENDACITY (men DAS uh tee) n the condition of being untruthful, dishonesty • Pinocchio was never able to hide his mendacity; whenever he lied his nose grew longer. Mendacious means false, untruthful. • I have never met a more mendacious child; imagine him telling me that the teapot on my head is silly, when everyone knows it is the height of fashion!

MENDICANT

MENDICANT (MEN dih kunt) n a beggar, supplicant • The tourist was horrified to see the number of mendicants begging on the streets, not realizing that there were millions of homeless people reduced to mendicancy on the streets of his own country as well. • Mendicant orders are religious organizations, such as the Franciscans, that have renounced all material wealth and survive by begging.

METICULOUS

METICULOUS (muh TIK yoo lus) adj characterized by extreme care and precision, attentive to detail • Her desk was so meticulous that every pen was lined up exactly the same distance apart. • His meticulous planning of every aspect of the conference paid off when the whole week went exactly as it was supposed to.

METTLESOME

METTLESOME (MET ul sum) adj courageous, high-spirited • The mettlesome doctor risked his own life to try to save the wounded soldiers on both sides. • She was a mettlesome child, always proud and unruly. Be careful. Not only does this word have the two subtly different meanings of "courageous" and "high-spirited," but also it is also very easy to confuse it with other, similar words. Watch out for meddlesome, meaning inclined to interfere, and nettlesome, meaning prickly or difficult. Remembering that mettle means courage and stamina will help.

MILITATE

MILITATE (MIL i tayt) v to have weight or bearing on, to argue (against) • The president's advisors warned him that the volatility of the situation militated against any rash action. • The presence of polite company militates against my telling you exactly what I think of your underhanded scheming, but as soon as we're alone you'd better watch out. Occasionally militate is used to mean arguing for, though it usually used to mean arguing against. • His phenomenal record militates in favor of his consideration for the job.

MINCE

MINCE (mints) v pronounce or speak affectedly or too carefully, euphemize, take tiny steps, tiptoe • Don't mince words with me; just come right out and tell me exactly what you think. • The five-inch heels and straitjacket she wore for Halloween forced her to take little mincing steps to keep from falling over.

MISANTHROPE

MISANTHROPE (MIS un throhp) n one who hates humankind • Kate was surprised to discover that she had a reputation as a misanthrope, because really she was just very shy. Misanthropic is an adjective that means "hating humankind." • Traffic jams tend to bring out the misanthropic worst in people, since everyone just starts hating everyone else. For an antonym, see philanthropic.

MISOGYNIST

MISOGYNIST (mis AH jin 1st) n one who hates women • The professor had a reputation for being a misogynist, which explained why not only none of the female grad students, but also most of the male students didn't want to work with him, despite his supposed brilliance, • The song's misogynist lyrics sparked massive protests by feminists. Misogynist and misogynistic are both regarded as acceptable forms for the adjective.

MITIGATE

MITIGATE (MIT uh gayt) v to make or become less severe or intense, moderate • Discovering that I had the date wrong mitigated some of the pain of having no one show up to my birthday party. • Turning on the heater mitigated the extreme cold in the living room; why didn't we think of that earlier? A mitigating circumstance doesn't change whether a person is guilty or not, but it may lessen the severity of the punishment (it mitigates the severity). Unmitigated means absolute or unrelieved. • My attempt to tango was an unmitigated disaster.

MONOTONY

MONOTONY (muh NAHT un ee) n tedious lack of variety or change • One would think that life on a desert island would be filled with monotony, but in fact, foraging and hunting for food makes one's days quite exciting. This word comes from monotone, which means one sound. If you think about someone's voice droning on with no change in the pitch, you'll get a pretty good idea of the meaning of monotony. The adjective form of this word is monotonous.

NADIR

NADIR (NAY deer) n low point, perigee • Being presented with the "Nice Try" award for finishing in last place was definitely the nadir of my professional pinochle career. • Liver-flavored tapioca with pickled pretzels truly marked the nadir of Darryl's cooking experiments. For an antonym, go to the entry for apogee.

NASCENT

NASCENT (NAY sunt) adj coming into being; in early developmental stages • I could always tell when Richard had a nascent plan developing, because he got this faraway devious look in his eyes. • The nascent truce between the warring groups was tenuous, and would need intensive diplomatic cooperation in order to grow into a stronger and lasting relationship.

NATTY

NATTY (NA tee) adj trimly neat and tidy, dapper • My grandmother is always complaining that there are no more natty dressers; she just doesn't think that baggy jeans and sneakers can compete with the zoot suits of her adolescence.

NEBULOUS

NEBULOUS (NEB yoo lus) adj vague, cloudy, lacking clearly defined form • Unfortunately, we were so excited about the prospect of discovering buried treasure that we hadn't noticed how nebulous Hannah's plan was for finding it. • All we could see of the dust storm as it approached was a nebulous gray mass. Nebulous can also mean relating to a nebula, which has several meanings dealing with cloudiness and diffuse particles, but is generally known as a body of interstellar dust or gas.

NEOLOGISM

NEOLOGISM (nee AH luh ji zim) n a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses • "Eco-chic," "urbanwear," and "technophile" are examples of recent neologisms, just as "TV," "bobby socker," and "UFO" once were. • My least favorite neologisms are nouns that have been made into verbs, as in "our team has been tasked with...."

NEOPHYTE

NEOPHYTE (NEE uh fyt) n a recent convert; a beginner; novice • Although only a neophyte, Casey was already demonstrating amazing skill at chess. • As a neophyte at archery, I was just happy I didn't put out anyone's eye my first few times. Tyro is one synonym for neophyte.

NOSTRUM

NOSTRUM (NAH strum) n cure-all, placebo, questionable remedy • Any nostrum that claims to cure both a hangover and bunions is either a miracle or a fraud. • Spare me your nostrums promising the answers to all of life's difficult questions; if it were that easy someone would have found them long ago.

NOXIOUS

NOXIOUS (NARK shus) adj harmful; injurious • His speeches advocating intolerance are noxious; they spread harm to everyone who hears them. • That particularly noxious shade of pink is making my eyes hurt. • The school had to be evacuated when the noxious gas leak was discovered.

OBEISANCE

OBEISANCE (oh BEE sunts) n gesture that expresses deference, such as a bow or curtsy • In the court of a king or queen, no one would think of dancing without first offering some sort of obeisance to the monarch; obviously, rules on other dance floors are more relaxed. Obeisance shares a root with obey, and it is, in fact, a gesture that shows "obey-ance" to the recipient. An obeisance could also be called an obeisant gesture.

OBSEQUIOUS

OBSEQUIOUS (ub SEE kwee us) ad] exhibiting a fawning attentiveness; subservient • His obsequious fawning over Brandy made him seem more like her pet than her peer. • I suspected that he was only trying to get something from me, and that his obsequiousness was not a measure of his adulation, but only of his desire for reward.

OBSTREPEROUS

OBSTREPEROUS (ahb STREP uh rus) adj noisy, loudly stubborn, boisterous • Their obstreperous clamor to see their idol didn't quiet down even after he came on stage. • The entire zoo was kept up all night by the obstreperous herd of cranky elephants.

OBTAIN

OBTAIN (ub TAYN) v to be established, accepted, or customary, prevail • The customary niceties of polite conversation do not obtain in the middle of a tornado. • The proper conditions for the summit will only obtain if all parties agree to certain terms.

OBTUSE

OBTUSE (ahb TOOS) adj lacking sharpness of intellect, not clear or precise in thought or expression • Her approach was so obtuse that it took me twenty minutes to figure out that she was asking me out. • The secret agent was so obtuse he couldn't remember how to figure out the secret code even after he's studied it for days. In geometry, an obtuse angle is one that is more than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees, so it's a pretty dull angle. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that the definitions of obtuse used here also mean dull. For an opposite, see acumen.

OBVIATE

OBVIATE (AHB vee ayt) v to anticipate and make unnecessary • Finding my keys in my pocket obviated the need for the private investigators I just hired to locate them. • The successful outcome of the most recent experiments obviated the need for any additional testing.

OCCULT

OCCULT (uh KULT) adj hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension We generally think of the occult as having to do with the supernatural. However, it can also mean anything hidden or beyond comprehension. • The occult mysteries of humankind's purpose on earth have yet to be fully solved despite the best efforts of scientists, philosophers and theologians. Occult can also be a verb, meaning to hide. • The beam of light from the ranger's station was occulted every time we walked behind a tree.

ODIOUS

ODIOUS (OH dee us) adj hateful; arousing strong feelings of dislike • As a vegetarian, there are few things more odious to Mari than the smell of beef cooking. • The enmity is so strong between the two competitors that even the thought of being in each other's presence is odious to either of them.

OFFICIOUS

OFFICIOUS (uh FISH us) adj meddlesome, pushy in offering one's services where they are unwanted • The officious busybody was constantly popping up to offer help when everyone just wished he would go away. • Our well-intended but officious host kept refilling our plates and glasses before we had a chance to take more than a bite or two.

ONEROUS

ONEROUS (AH nuh rus) adj troubling, burdensome • We were not looking forward to the onerous task of cleaning up after the dance, but it turned out not to be too bad once we brought in the bulldozer. • Every spring I dread the onerous task of filing my income tax return.

OPAQUE

OPAQUE (oh PAYK) adj impermeable by light; dense in mind Literally, something opaque allows no light through it. Figuratively, opaque is similar in meaning to obtuse. • The windows were so dirty that they were almost opaque. • I explained the concept to her the same way I do to everyone; she must just be too opaque to understand. The word comes from a Latin word meaning darkened. OPPROBRIUM (uh PROH bree um) n disgrace, contempt, scorn • The students couldn't bear to face their teacher's opprobrium after they all failed the midterm exam. • Many terms of opprobrium have been reclaimed by their intended targets as a way of fighting back against bigotry.

OSCILLATION

OSCILLATION (ah suh LAY shun) n the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm • The oscillation of the electric fan back and forth was the only sound in the diner mid-afternoon. The verb oscillate can both mean to literally move back and forth and to move back and forth between two ideas or positions. • As he plucked one petal after another from the flower he oscillated between hope and despair, thinking alternately "she loves me, she loves me not."

OSSIFIED

OSSIFIED (AH suh FYD) adj changed into bone; made rigidly conventional and unreceptive to change • The department had so ossified over time that no new ideas were ever introduced; its ossification was so advanced that it had become nothing more than a rigid bureaucracy.

OSTENSIBLE

OSTENSIBLE (ah STEN suh bul) adj seeming, appearing as such, professed • Even though his ostensible reason for coming to all the games was his love of the sport, we knew his crush on the team captain was his real reason. • Even when they are ostensibly written for children, many cartoons are actually more entertaining for adults.

PALLIATE

PALLIATE (PAL ee ayt) v to make something appear less serious, gloss over, mitigate • His attempts to palliate the significance of his plagiarism only made it worse; he would have been better off just owning up to it rather than trying to diminish its importance. • Nothing could palliate the boredom he felt, not even the prospect of a rousing game of pingpong. If ping-pong had cured his boredom, it would have been an effective palliative.

PANDEMIC

PANDEMIC (pan DEM ik) adj widespread; occurring over a large area or affecting an unusually large percentage of the population • HIV and AIDS have become pandemic throughout much of the world and are likely to be the biggest health crisis of the century. Pandemic can also be used as a noun. • The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919 killed at least twenty-five million people worldwide within six months. For a related word with a very different meaning, see endemic.

PANEGYRIC

PANEGYRIC (pan uh JYRE ik) n formal expression of praise • Thomas spent months preparing a panegyric to his grandfather for his ninetieth birthday. • The panegyric Pliny the Younger delivered before the Roman Senate in honor of Trajan is the only speech of his extant today.

PARADIGM

PARADIGM (PAR uh dym) n something that serves as a model, example, or pattern; the framework of assumptions and understandings shared by a group or discipline that shapes its worldview • She is a paradigm of studiousness; she spends all of her time studying in the library. • The move away from the traditional, detached scholarly voice of the critic toward a more engaged, first person narrative represented a major paradigm shift. When some academics started talking about how they felt about things rather than being just disembodied voices, it caused a big change in how people thought about academic writing.

PARADOX

PARADOX (PAR uh dox) n a contradiction; a seemingly self-contradictory statement that seems true nonetheless • The most widely used example of a paradox is the statement, "Less is more." Paradoxical is the adjective form. • Though it seems paradoxical, it is actually less tiring to walk than to stand. Originally, a paradox was a statement that conflicted with expectation or accepted opinions.

PARAGON

PARAGON (PAR uh gahn) n something regarded as a model of excellence or perfection in some way • The businessman relied on his reputation as a paragon of honesty to become one of the town's most beloved politicians. • The model was considered such a paragon of the perfect female form that the sculptor used her figure for his model of Aphrodite. The original meaning of paragon was a touchstone, or something used to distinguish good from bad. Now it tends to mean a standard by which a certain characteristic is judged.

PARIAH

PARIAH (puh RY uh) n an outcast, a rejected and despised person • The plot of many teen movies revolves around the miraculous transformation of the school nerd from social pariah to the most popular boy or girl in school. • Eating a pound of garlic before bed is likely to make one a pariah the next day.

PARODY

PARODY (PAR uh dee) n a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, especially in literature and art, also something so bad as to be potentially mistaken for an intentional mockery • The game last night was a parody of the game of football; no team could have really played that poorly, so they must have been trying to lose as badly as possible. • The students' parody of the teachers in the talent show skit may have hit a little too close to home; none of the teachers being parodied seemed very amused, but everyone else thought it was hysterical.

PARRY

PARRY (PAR ee) v to block, evade or ward off, as a blow • Press secretaries are skilled at parrying reporters' questions; they can make it seem as if they are answering the question without actually providing any information. • Chuck was able to parry all his opponent's blows, except the last one, which caught him right on the chin.

PARSIMONIOUS

PARSIMONIOUS (pahr si MOHN ee us) ad] cheap, miserly • He was so parsimonious that he wouldn't even share the free coupons that came in the mail.

PARTISAN

PARTISAN (PAHR tuh zun) ad] one-sided, committed to a party, biased or prejudiced • Since partisan support for the bill was unlikely to be enough to guarantee its passage, lobbyists were under pressure to persuade members of other parties to vote for it. • Partisan conflict split the club in two as each faction rallied behind its choice for president. Partisan can also be a noun, meaning supporter, adherent. • Partisans of the winning team spilled out of the stadium in loud celebration. A related word that we hear frequently is bipartisan, which means both parties. A very popular bill is likely to have bipartisan support.

PECCADILLO

PECCADILLO (pek uh OIL oh) n a slight offense, literally, a minor sin • Peter's pilfering was hardly a peccadillo; he was wanted for grand larceny in thirteen states. • Using the wrong fork was merely a peccadillo, but dumping the tureen of soup over the host's head was a major gaffe.

PEDAGOGY

PEDAGOGY (PED uh goh lee) n the art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing • All his training in pedagogy in school hadn't completely prepared Carlos for dealing with thirty manic third graders. • The Princeton Review trains teachers in a pedagogical style based on the Socratic method, in which the teacher asks students questions in order to lead them to a better understanding of the material.

PEDANTIC

PEDANTIC (pi DAN tik) adj ostentatious display of learning, excessive attention to minutiae and formal rules, unimaginative • The bureaucrat's pedantic obsession with rules and regulations ensured that nothing was ever accomplished. • The author's pedantic writing style managed to make a fascinating topic completely boring by including endless fussy details. One who has a pedantic style is called a pedant. • Ever the pedant, the professor was more concerned with demonstrating how much he knew than in teaching his students.

PEDESTRIAN

PEDESTRIAN (puh DES tree un) adj commonplace, trite, unremarkable • The movie's plot was pedestrian, despite the director's brave decision to cast a badger in the role of the hero. • His dissertation was pedestrian at best: thorough but completely unremarkable and not very interesting at all.

PENCHANT

PENCHANT (PEN chunt) n strong inclination, a liking • I have accepted my cat's penchant for climbing on things, so I don't even worry about the state of disrepair of my couch and drapes. • My penchant for fine wines and expensive cars rather exceeds my ability to pay for them.

PENURIOUS

PENURIOUS (pen POOR ee us) ad] penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous • My penurious boss makes us bring toilet paper from home in order to save the company money. • Mr. Scrooge was so penurious that three separate ghostly visitations were required to get him to be even a little bit kind or generous. Penury is extreme poverty, destitution or lack of resources. • Albert's state of penury was sufficiently far advanced that he was forced to recycle his coffee grounds each morning. • The cheerleader was suffering penury of spirit; she didn't even care enough to lift her pompoms during the cheers.

PEREMPTORY

PEREMPTORY (puh REMP tor ee) adj admitting of no contradiction, putting an end to further debate, haughty, imperious • Her peremptory tone made it clear that there would be no further discussion of the matter. • The king dismissed the petitioner with a peremptory wave of his hand, not even bothering to say anything more.

PERENNIAL

PERENNIAL (puh REN ee ul) adj recurrent through the year or many years, happening repeatedly • Death of a Salesman was a perennial favorite of the community theater; they performed it every season. • The students' perennial complaint was that they had too much homework; the faculty's perennial response was that they should be happy they didn't have more. • Perennials are plants that live for more than one year.

PERFIDY

PERFIDY (PUR fuh dee) n intentional breach of faith, treachery • I couldn't believe my campaign manager's perfidy in voting for my opponent. • Kevin was outraged by his brother's perfidy when he claimed that it had been Kevin's idea to shave the cat.

PERFUNCTORY

PERFUNCTORY (pur FUNK tor ee) ad] cursory, done without care or interest • Hilda's perfunctory approach to cleaning left dust bunnies the size of small horses in the corners and under the bed. • His perfunctory response to my question confirmed that he hadn't been paying attention to what I said.

PERIPATETIC

PERIPATETIC (per i puh TET ik) ad] itinerant, traveling, nomadic • Charlene was unwilling to give up the peripatetic life of a sailor for the security of a house with a white picket fence, so she rented an apartment in every port. • As a peripatetic salesman, Frank spent most of his time in his car. Errant and itinerant are two synonyms for peripatetic.

PERNICIOUS

PERNICIOUS (pur NI shus) adj extremely harmful, potentially causing death • The pernicious venom of the Black Mamba snake will always kill its victim unless an antidote is administered quickly. • The effect of her pernicious sarcasm could be felt at ten paces. Pernicious is similar in meaning to inimical.

PERSONABLE

PERSONABLE (PUR sun uh bul) adj pleasing in appearance, attractive • I found him quite personable, as all those other people flirting with him apparently did as well. • She was quite personable until she revealed that she was a vampire in need of a nightly feeding.

PERSPICACIOUS

PERSPICACIOUS (pur spuh KAY shus) adj acutely perceptive, having keen discernment • How very perspicacious of you to notice that I dyed my hair blue. • It was quite surprising that his teachers described Kyle as a perspicacious student, since he slept through most of their classes; he must have demonstrated great insight in the papers he wrote. Someone who is perspicacious probably has great acumen.

PERUSE

PERUSE (pur OOZ) v to examine with great care • Since I didn't have time to peruse the entire report with the thoroughness it deserved, I had to settle for reading an abridged version for now. • She perused the shelves for the book, checking each title one by one. Be careful, many people misuse this word, believing that it means to glance over quickly.

PERVADE

PERVADE (pur VAYD) v to permeate throughout • I was pervaded with fear when the stairs creaked in the middle of the night; even the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Pervasive means having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout. • The pervasive smell of bread baking filled every room in the house and made my stomach rumble.

PETROUS

PETROUS (PET rus) adj like a rock, hard, stony • I wasn't surprised that my petrous cake wasn't a big hit, but it did make an excellent doorstop, if I do say so myself. Petrous technically refers to the hard temporal bone that protects the inner ear. Petrify means to make hard or rocklike, or to paralyze with fear. • The pores of the wood had been replaced by minerals from the bog in which it was buried, leaving the wood petrified. • We were petrified by the dark shape moving toward us; we couldn't even run away because we were frozen with fear.

PETULANT

PETULANT (PET yoo lunt) adj impatient, irritable • It's always easy to tell when Brad is feeling petulant because his bottom lip starts to protrude. • Terrible Tina's babysitters were so afraid of her temper tantrums that they gave her whatever she wanted at the first sign of petulance.

PHILANTHROPIC

PHILANTHROPIC (fil un THRAHP ik) adj humanitarian; benevolent • The mogul eventually turned his attention from making money to more philanthropic pursuits, but he will primarily be remembered for his innovations in business. Philanthropic comes from Greek roots meaning "man-loving"—man meaning humankind. The act of doing humanitarian works is called philanthropy. Remember misanthrope? A philanthropist is the exact opposite.

PHILISTINE

PHILISTINE (FIL uh styn) n a crass individual guided by material rather than intellectual or artistic values • The author claimed that his many critics were just philistines, who obviously lacked any taste since they didn't appreciate his writing.

PHLEGMATIC

PHLEGMATIC (fleg MA tik) adj calm, sluggish, unemotional, stoic • Karen was so phlegmatic she didn't even react when Rita stepped on her foot repeatedly. • His phlegmatic response to the question revealed nothing of what he was feeling, if he was feeling anything at all. According to Aristotle, phlegmatic personalities were caused by too much phlegm. This book contains vocabulary words based on three other personality types that he identified based on bodily fluids.. .can you find the rest?

PICARESQUE

PICARESQUE (pik uh RESK) adj involving clever rogues or adventurers • Huck Finn is sometimes described as a picaresque hero, since the novel follows his roguish adventures. Be careful not to confuse this with picturesque, which means picture-like, charming, or quaint.

PIED

PIED (pyd) adj multi-colored, usually in blotches • The pied goat was easily distinguishable in the herd of solid white and brown coats. • The jester wore a pied coat of many bright colors.

PILLORY

PILLORY (PIL uh ree) v to punish, hold up to public scorn • The politician was pilloried in the press for his inability to spell potato. A pillory was a device for punishing people through public humiliation; it consisted of a wooden frame into which someone's neck and hands could be locked, and was usually set up in a town square or other public place. It was very similar in design and purpose to the stocks.

PINE

PINE (pyn) v to yearn intensely, to languish, to lose vigor • Johnnie pined away for his girlfriend the entire time she was away at camp; he didn't eat or sleep and just stared at her picture all day. • I pined for sunshine all winter until I couldn't stand it any more and had to go buy a sun lamp.

PIOUS

PIOUS (PY us) adj extremely reverent or devout • Cleo was so pious that she went to church at least once a day. Pious can also have the sense of false or hypocritical devotion. • The evangelist's pious preaching was a thin cover for the millions of dollars he was embezzling from the church. The word piety means the state of being pious.

PIQUANT

PIQUANT (PEE kunt) ad] agreeably pungent, spicy, stimulating • The piquant gumbo was a welcome change after days of bland hospital food. • The piquancy of her face with its high cheekbones and arresting eyes made the portrait memorable.

PIQUE

PIQUE (peek) n resentment, feeling of irritation due to hurt pride • In a fit of pique, Chelsea threw her boyfriend's bowling ball out the fourth-story window onto his car. To pique can also be a verb, meaning to annoy or irritate, or to provoke or arouse, as in "you've piqued my curiosity."

PITH

PITH (pith) n the essential or central part • The pith of his argument seemed to be that he should get a bigger allowance, though it took him an hour to get to the point. • It's a little strange that the pith of an orange is the white spongy stuff under the rind, instead of the part at the center of the orange, but that's the way it goes. Pithy means precise and brief. • The pithy synopsis of the novel distilled all 1,500 pages into two very concise paragraphs.

PLACATE

PLACATE (PLAY cayt) v to appease, to calm by making concessions • Jesse tried to placate the irritable crocodile by feeding it several steaks, but after swallowing these whole, it still seemed to want Jesse for dessert. • Although my boyfriend seemed somewhat placated after I sent him flowers every day for a week, I suspected he was still a little cranky that I had forgotten our anniversary. Mollify can be a synonym for placate.

PLAINTIVE

PLAINTIVE (PLAYN tiv) ad] mournful, melancholy, sorrowful • The plaintive strains of the bagpipe made everyone feel as mournful as it sounded. • The dogs' plaintive howls effectively expressed their sadness at having been left outside in the rain.

PLANGENT

PLANGENT (PLAN junt) ad] pounding, thundering, resounding • The plangent bells could be heard all over town as they chimed the hour. • We were awakened from our nap by the plangent honking of a flock of migrating geese.

PLASTIC

PLASTIC (PLA stik) ad] moldable, pliable, not rigid • The supervillain's secret brain control ray rendered its victim's mind plastic and easily bendable to his evil plans. • This foam is highly plastic and can be molded to almost any shape.

PLATITUDE

PLATITUDE (PLAT i tood) n a superficial or trite remark, especially one offered as meaningful • Since Laura loved to say things that seemed profound initially but turned out to be banal once considered, she was a perfect candidate for writing the platitudes that go in greeting cards. • Most people can only offer platitudes when faced with someone else's loss; we're just not very good at knowing how to say something meaningful when confronted with grief.

PLUCK

PLUCK (pluk) n courage, spunk, fortitude • The audience was impressed by the gymnast's pluck in continuing her routine even after she fell off the balance beam. • The prospect of glory and a hot cup of soup gave the soldiers the pluck they needed to keep fighting.

PLUMB

PLUMB (plum) v to measure the depth (as with a plumb line), to examine critically • It was the exploratory ship's task to plumb the depth of a section of the Pacific Ocean. • Having plumbed the viability of the plan, we decided it was too risky to undertake at night. Plumb as an adjective means exactly vertical. Informally it can also mean directly (as in, "fell plumb on his butt") or completely (as in, "plumb tuckered out").

PLUMMET

PLUMMET (PLUM et) v to plunge or drop straight down • One by one the ostriches plummeted to the ground when they remembered that they couldn't fly. • The company's stock plummeted when it failed to get the patent for making money out of thin air.

POIGNANT

POIGNANT (POIN yunt) ad] distressing, pertinent, touching, stimulating, emotional • The poignant final scene between the main character and his pet penguin that was mortally wounded trying to save his owner moved the audience to tears. • He felt poignant anxiety at the thought of what his life would be like now that he no longer had a job.

POLEMICAL

POLEMICAL (ph LEM i kul) ad] controversial, argumentative • Her polemical attack on the president's foreign policy was carefully designed to force him into a public debate on the subject. Polemics are the art or practice of controversy and argumentation. • Spare me the polemics; we need to reach a consensus in the next ten minutes in order to complete this project in time.

PRAGMATIC

PRAGMATIC (prag MAT ik) ad] practical rather than idealistic • I approve of your pragmatic decision to wear running shoes to exercise instead of the go-go boots you were considering. • I was the pragmatist and my business partner was the idealist; she figured out how something should be and I tried to work out whether it was possible. A pragmatist is one who is practical.

PRATE

PRATE (prayt) v chatter, babble • The toddler prated on happily to himself though no one else had any idea what he was saying. Prate is a synonym of prattle.

PRECEPT

PRECEPT (PREE sept) n rule establishing standards of conduct, a doctrine that is taught • One of the precepts of our criminal justice system is that one is assumed innocent until proven guilty. • You will violate the precepts of fair play if you peek at my cards.

PRECIPITATE

PRECIPITATE (pree SIP uh tut) adj acting with excessive haste or impulse • The captain was forced to take precipitate action when the storm arrived earlier than he had expected. As a verb, precipitate means to cause or happen before anticipated or required. • Be careful, any sudden movement could precipitate an avalanche. • The sale of one of its divisions to its major competitor precipitated the company's collapse.

PRECURSOR

PRECURSOR (PRE kur sur) n something that precedes and indicates or announces another • Overindulgence is often the precursor to a nasty hangover the next morning. • The volleyball team's winning season was a precursor to their national championship.

PREDILECTION

PREDILECTION (pre duh LEI( shun) n a disposition in favor of something, preference • Once President Reagan's predilection for jellybeans became known, people sent him tons of them. • Harold's predilection for dating older women meant he didn't need to worry as much about getting his driver's license.

PREEMPT

PREEMPT (pree EMPT) v to replace, to supersede, to appropriate • My friends preempted my birthday plans by throwing me a surprise party. Preemption is prior appropriation of or claim to something, and preemptive means characterized by preemption. • The smaller country launched a preemptive strike against its larger neighbor, hoping to diminish its offensive power.

PREEN

PREEN (preen) v to dress up, primp, groom oneself with elaborate care; in animals, to clean fur or feathers • She was so busy preening and posing for the cameras that she didn't pay enough attention to where the edge of the pool was. • Humans preen in front of their chosen mates in much the way some birds do, but birds also preen their feathers to stay warm and watertight.

PRESCIENCE

PRESCIENCE (PRE see unts) n knowing of events prior to their occurring • I wish I had had the prescience to know it was going to rain today, I would have brought a raincoat. • Cassandra's unique curse was that she was given the gift of prescience but doomed to have no one ever believe her.

PRESUMPTUOUS

PRESUMPTUOUS (pre ZUMP shoo us) adj overstepping bounds, as of propriety or courtesy; taking liberties • I thought it was a little presumptuous of Lewis to bring his pajamas and toothbrush with him on our first date. • Carol couldn't believe her neighbor's presumption in borrowing her lawnmower without asking.

PREVARICATE

PREVARICATE (pri VAR uh kayt) v to deliberately avoid the truth, mislead • The detective began to think the suspect was prevaricating about having stayed in all last night when he found mud and grass on her shoes. • The aging film star had made a life-long habit of prevaricating about his age; he had been thirty five for more than forty years.

PRISTINE

PRISTINE (pri STEEN) adj pure, uncorrupted, clean • Never having been explored by humans, the remote wilderness remained a pristine natural expanse. • I feared my pristine shirt wouldn't make it through an entire meal of barbecued ribs.

PRIZE

PRIZE (pryz) v to pry, press or force with a lever • His parents had to prize the trophy from his sleeping fingers, since he insisted on taking it to bed with him. • Although I tried to prize the information out of him, Arthur refused to reveal his biscuit recipe.

PROBITY

PROBITY (PROHB i tee) adj adherence to highest principles, uprightness • Because the chieftain was known for his probity and the soundness of his judgment, people came from miles around to ask him to hear their disputes.

PROCLIVITY

PROCLIVITY (proh CLIV uh tee) n a natural predisposition or inclination • His proclivity for napping through movies made his desire to be a movie reviewer a little strange.

PRODIGAL

PRODIGAL (PRAH duh gull adj recklessly wasteful, extravagant, profuse, lavish • He was completely prodigal in his planning for the party; he hired a 50-piece orchestra and bought 100 cases of champagne for a guest list of ten. • Linda was prodigal with her singing abilities, performing only in karaoke bars.

PRODIGIOUS

PRODIGIOUS (pro DI jus) adj abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary • The prodigious weight of my backpack made me fall over backwards. • The public finally recognized his prodigious talent on the kazoo when his album of old kazoo standards topped the charts.

PROFUSE

PROFUSE (proh FYOOS) adj given or coming forth abundantly, extravagant • Her profuse gratitude for my having saved her cat became a little excessive with the fourth sweater she knitted for me. Profusion means abundance or extravagance. • The profusion of flowers decorating every surface in the room filled the room with color.

PROLIFIC

PROLIFIC (proh LIF ik) adj producing large volumes or amounts, productive • She was a prolific writer, churning out 100 pages a week. • Opossums are extremely prolific, giving birth to up to fourteen babies in each litter. Proliferate is a related word meaning to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly. • The termites proliferated in the basement until the whole house started to crumble. Proliferation is the act of increasing quickly. • The proliferation of weeds in the yard suggested it might be time to consider some gardening.

PROLIX

PROLIX (proh LIKS) adj long-winded, verbose • The prolix politician was a natural at filibustering; he could talk for hours without stopping. • His prolixity was famous; he could talk for ten minutes before needing to take a breath and for hours before finishing a sentence. See verbose for a synonym of prolix.

PROPENSITY

PROPENSITY (pruh PEN suh tee) n a natural inclination or tendency, penchant • His well-known propensity for telling tall tales made it unlikely anyone would believe he had really had a conversation with the Abominable Snowman. • Andy tied strings around his fingers to combat his propensity for forgetfulness, but then he just forgot what the strings were for.

PROPITIATE

PROPITIATE (proh PI shi ayt) v to appease or pacify • They tried to propitiate the storm gods by dancing in the rain and pouring wine on the ground as an offering. Something propitiatory is meant to propitiate. • The prime minister sent the emperor a propitiatory gift in order to appease his anger over the diplomatic blunder.

PROPRIETY

PROPRIETY (pruh PRY uh tee) n appropriateness; conformity with standards of acceptable behavior • Unfortunately, Jean's dinner conversation shocked his new in-laws, whose ideas of propriety were significantly more conservative than his. Be careful; this word is easy to confuse with proprietary, which means associated with ownership.

PROSAIC

PROSAIC (proh ZAY ik) adj dull, unimaginative • His prosaic sensibilities were obvious when, in a letter to his wife, he described a rainbow as an optical phenomenon caused by the refraction of light through water. • I was surprised that he should offer so prosaic an account of his travels in Spain; it was out of character given his usually poetic descriptions.

PROSCRIBE

PROSCRIBE (proh SKRYB) v to outlaw or prohibit • Attempts to proscribe swimming in the old quarry were unsuccessful; people continued to do it despite the new rules. Proscription is the act of outlawing something. It can also mean to outlaw or banish people, or pass sentence of death. Prescription and proscription often get mixed up; the former describes what you should do and the latter describes what you are not allowed to do.

PUERILE

PUERILE (PYOOR ul) adj childish, immature • His puerile humor prominently featured fart jokes. • Annette's puerile response to losing the competition was exactly like that of a small child; she lay down on the ground and started kicking her hands and feet.

PUGNACIOUS

PUGNACIOUS (pug NAY shus) adj contentious, quarrelsome, given to fighting, belligerent • That pug is extremely pugnacious, biting people's ankles for no reason at all. • The civil rights attorney was known for her pugnacious readiness to fight any injustice. Bellicose and querulous are synonyms for pugnacious.

PUNCTILIOUS

PUNCTILIOUS (punkTlLeeus) adj precise, paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etiquette • Although his punctilious obsession with etiquette is usually very annoying, it is always handy when royalty comes to dine. • It was sometimes useful to have an assistant who punctiliously recorded where I was and what I did every second of every day; if nothing else, it made it easy to confirm an alibi should one be necessary.

PUNDIT

PUNDIT (PUN dit) n an authority on a subject, one who gives opinions • Rob never had any opinions of his own; he just quoted what the pundits had said. • The pundits disagreed about what the recently released statistics meant for the prospect of economic recovery.

PUNGENT

PUNGENT (PUN junt) adj characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste, penetrating, to the point • The pungent aroma of cinnamon and cloves filled the little tea shop. • His pungent criticism of my paper made me see flaws I hadn't noticed before.

PUSILLANIMOUS

PUSILLANIMOUS (pyoo sil AN uh mus) adj cowardly, craven • His pusillanimous refusal to agree to the duel turned out to be wise, if cowardly; his challenger was later revealed to be an Olympic biathlete, and therefore a very good shot. • The Cowardly Lion thought he was pusillanimous, but according to the story he was actually brave all along and just hadn't known it.

PUTREFY

PUTREFY (PYOO truh fy) v to rot, decay and give off a foul odor, become gangrenous • The apples that had fallen on the ground putrefied in the warm sun. • The doctors were forced to amputate the leg in order to prevent putrefaction.

QUAFF

QUAFF (kwahf) v to drink deeply • Brett was planning to meet his friends at the pub after work to quaff a few pints before heading home. • The medicine tasted so foul that I had to hold my nose and quaff it all in one gulp.

QUALMS

QUALMS (kwahm) n misgivings, reservations, causes for hesitancy • Mai had qualms about accepting a job so far away from her family, but decided in the end that it was the right option for her. • Pete had no qualms about singing in public, which was a little surprising since he couldn't carry a tune.

QUERIES

QUERIES (KWE rees) n questions, inquiries, reservations • Liza's queries to the Library of Congress for information concerning the old manuscript did not produce the results she had hoped for. • Although I had some initial queries about his sincerity, I decided to trust his proclamations of undying love.

QUERULOUS

QUERULOUS (KWER yuh lus) adj prone to complaining or grumbling, quarrelsome • Her querulous demand to know every five minutes whether we were there yet started to get on my nerves. • Mitch tended to become querulous when he hadn't had his afternoon nap.

RAIL

RAIL (rayl) v to complain about bitterly • He railed against the injustice of having not won the lottery yet again. • After railing at the bank teller, she demanded to speak to his manager and then expressed her displeasure to him as well.

RAMIFY

RAMIFY (RAM uh fy) v to be divided or subdivided, branch out • Instead of being resolved, the dispute merely ramified as more and more people got involved. • The subject of his book ramified in new directions as he began to research all the different branches of the history. Ramifications are the developments or consequences growing out of something. • The ramifications of the judge's ruling would take years to be fully understood.

RANCOROUS

RANCOROUS (RAN kuh rus) adj characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment • The rancorous feud between the two sides of the family had been going on for years and had grown completely out of proportion to the missing casserole dish that had started the feud. Rancor is the bitter, long-lasting resentment itself. • His rancor at having been passed over for promotion was evident in the nasty letters he continued to write to the board of directors for years afterwards.

RAPACIOUS

RAPACIOUS (ruh PAY shus) adj voracious, greedy, plundering, subsisting on prey • The rapacious moths ate huge holes in every single one of my socks. • The Vikings are popularly imagined as rapacious warriors, who swept in from the sea and plundered everything in sight. Although this has its truth, it is still a one-dimensional view of their culture. Rapacity is avarice, or the practice of extorting or exacting by injustice. • The junta's rapacity in despoiling the country of anything of value was only matched by its cruelty to the populace.

RAREFY

RAREFY (RAYR uh fy) v to make or become thin, less dense, refine • Gases condense when they are cooled and rarefy when they are heated. • His sole goal in life was to gain admission to the rarefied air of the literary society. • The air at high elevation is sufficiently rarefied that it can be difficult for people with respiratory illnesses to breath.

REBUS

REBUS (REE bus) n riddle, a representation of words by pictures or symbols that sound like the words • Pictures of bees, eyes, and ewes are commonly used in a rebus to symbolize the words "be," "I," and "you" respectively. In a rebus, words are represented by things, so it makes sense that rebus comes from a Latin word meaning by things. What is now generally an innocent game comes from a tradition of satires written in the Middle Ages, in which people and current events were represented by pictures for the writers' protection.

RECALCITRANT

RECALCITRANT (ri KAL suh trunt) adj obstinately defiant of authority or guidance, difficult to manage • Joe was so recalcitrant he refused to do anything he was instructed to do, even something he liked to do, simply because someone told him to do it. • The bank sent someone to repossess the recalcitrant debtor's car and furniture after he refused to make payments for five months.

RECANT

RECANT (ri KANT) v to retract, especially a previously held belief • After swallowing the first two, Trina recanted her earlier boast that she could swallow twenty dead worms. • Galileo was forced to recant his claim that Earth moved around the sun.

RECAPITULATE

RECAPITULATE (re kuh PITCH oo layt) v to summarize, to repeat concisely • Judy rushed home from work but was still too late to miss the televised debate; she had to settle for the recapitulated versions on national news. Recapitulate is the origin of the shortened form that is more in use today: recap.

RECONDITE

RECONDITE (rek AHN dyte) adj hidden, concealed, difficult to understand, obscure • Searching for information about the town's recondite origins was a lot like doing detective work. • While it makes perfect sense to physicists, quantum mechanics has always been recondite knowledge to me.

RECONNOITER

RECONNOITER (ree kuh NOY tur) v to engage in reconnaissance, make a preliminary inspection of • We sent Bob to reconnoiter the party when we first arrived, in order to see who was in the other rooms. • Our attempts to reconnoiter the area for a good camping site were cut short when it grew dark, so we ended up sleeping in the car.

RECUMBENT

RECUMBENT (ri KUM bunt) adj leaning, resting, prone • I was so comfortable recumbent on the picnic blanket that I didn't even stand up when it started raining. • Wealthy Romans were fond of dining recumbent on couches set around a table.

REDOLENT

REDOLENT (RED oh lunt) adj fragrant, suggestive or evocative • The dorm rooms were redolent with a fragrance of stale beer and cold pizza that brought me back to my college days. • The city in spring, redolent of cherry blossoms, hardly seemed like the same place that had been so gray and uninviting just two months earlier.

REDOUBTABLE

REDOUBTABLE (ri DOWT uh bull adj awe-inspiring, worthy of honor • He came from a redoubtable family, just one of many of its members to have served in the highest positions in the country. • There are many folk songs and stories about the legend of the redoubtable John Henry, who beat the steam drill in a tunneling contest in 1872.

REFULGENT

REFULGENT (ri FUL junt) adj radiant, shiny, brilliant • The refulgent gleam of the motorcycle's chrome was his pride and joy. • Her refulgent smile seemed to light up the evening, though that might just have been the light shining off her braces.

REFUTE

REFUTE (ri FYOOT) v to disprove, successfully argue against • The doctor marshaled an army of statistics to refute the critics' claim that his techniques were unsound. • While no one has successfully refuted the existence of a god by scientific means, no one has proven a god's existence either.

REGALE

REGALE (ri GAYL) v to delight or entertain, feast • Joshua regaled his listeners with tales of his world travels while he was the owner of a famous flea circus. • The visiting dignitaries were regaled with a lavish meal and an elaborate dance and musical performance.

RELEGATE

RELEGATE (RE luh gayt) v to forcibly assign, especially to a lower place or position • As the youngest member of the troupe, I was relegated to the back end of the dancing donkey costume. • He always relegated paying bills to the bottom of his "to do" list, since he hated to be reminded of how little money was in his checking account.

REMONSTRATE

REMONSTRATE (ri MAHN strayt) v to protest, object • When I was a kid, I frequently remonstrated with my mom when she made me take my little brother with me to the park. • My mother remonstrated against the city's plan to tear down the park to build a parking lot. Remonstrations are objections as are remonstrances, though the latter is usually more formal. • Despite her advisor's remonstrations, Linda has decided to take eighteen units of underwater basket weaving next semester, and nothing else.

RENEGE

RENEGE (ri NIG) v to fail to honor a commitment, go back on a promise • I can't believe you reneged on your promise to paint the house for the third weekend in a row. • The government reneged on its commitment to provide asylum for the refugees, turning them back at the border instead.

RENT

RENT (rent) v torn, split apart, pierced as by a sound • The doll was rent limb from limb as the boys fought over it; each combatant was left holding an arm or a leg. Rend is the present tense. Rent can also be a noun, meaning a tear or breach. • He was determined to rend restitution from the company that had destroyed his health, even if it took years of fighting. • The starship and its valiant crew were hurled through a medium-sized rent in the space-time continuum.

REPINE

REPINE (ri PYNE) v to feel or express dejection or discontent, long for • The old man repined for his lost youth, when everything seemed so much more exciting than it was now. • I got sick of all her repining for her former beau; she was the one who dumped him, after all.

REPUDIATE

REPUDIATE (re PY00 dee ayt) v to refuse to have anything to do with, disown • The psychic repudiated his earlier claims when it became clear his client had not in fact won the lottery the day before. • David threatened to repudiate his daughter if she got any more tattoos or had any more body parts pierced, but she knew he was just bluffing.

RESCIND

RESCIND (ri SIND) v to invalidate, repeal, retract • The headmaster rescinded his recent dress code decree when he realized he just couldn't take looking at that many penny loafers every day. • After the so-called "Espresso Riots," the mayor rescinded the tax on lattes.

RESOLUTE

RESOLUTE (RE zoh loot) adj adamant, steadfast, determined • I remained resolute in my decision to give up eating meat, even though I repeatedly awakened in the middle of the night from dreams of bacon cheeseburgers. Irresolute is the opposite of resolute. • He was irresolute about his plans for the summer, wavering between getting a job and learning to be a beach bum.

RUBRIC

RUBRIC (ROO brik) n authoritative rule, heading, title, or category • The rubric used to score the writing samples emphasizes structure over content. • The phenomenon is often examined under the rubric of psychology rather than physiology. Another more obscure version of rubric is as an adjective meaning reddish or written in red, and the meanings are actually related. Instructions in church books used to be written in red, so both the color and what it is used for was named for the ruby.

RUE

RUE (roo) v regret, feel remorse • I rued the day I ever agreed to sublet my apartment to him; now I've got a flooded kitchen and he hasn't even paid the rent. Rueful means expressing sorrow. • Her rueful apology told me she was really sorry that she had run over my rose bed.

SAGACIOUS

SAGACIOUS (suh GAY shus) adj having sound judgment, perceptive, wise • The decision to invest in Brussels sprouts turned out to be a sagacious one, since shortly thereafter it was discovered that they contain a powerful aphrodisiac. Sagacious means like a sage, who is a person recognized as having great wisdom. Sage can also be an adjective, meaning wise. • His sage advice to grow a beard changed my whole life for the better, since I no longer looked as if I were fourteen.

SALACIOUS

SALACIOUS (suh LAY shus) adj appealing to or causing sexual desire, bawdy • Magazines containing salacious material are kept behind the counter in the bookstore, so you'll have to ask the clerk if you want to see them. • Tabloids rely in large part on the public's salacious curiosity in order to stay in business, and our titillation seems to overcome our outrage often enough for it to work.

SANCTIMONY

SANCTIMONY (SAYNKT i moh nee) n self-righteousness, pretended piety • His sanctimony was laughable, since he was the most self-absorbed, ruthless jerk I'd ever met. Sanctimonious means hypocritically pretending to be pious or being excessively pious. • Spare me your sanctimonious blather; you're no better than I am.

SANCTION

SANCTION (SAYNK shun) n authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance This one can be confusing, since it has two, nearly opposite, meanings: approval and penalty. • Without the sanction of the planning commission, we cannot proceed with the renovation. • Since he received the publisher's sanction to reproduce part of the book in his installation, he was able to proceed with the planned opening of the exhibit. • Sanctions were one of the tools used by the international community to pressure South Africa into ending its practice of apartheid. • After receiving the official sanction of the ethics committee, the lawyer was disbarred. Sanction can also be used as a verb. Up until the last few decades it only meant to encourage or approve, but it has recently come to mean to punish as well.

SANGUINE

SANGUINE (SAYN gwun) adj cheerful, confident, optimistic • His sanguine attitude was baffling to me, since it seemed clear that he was going to lose the race. • She was so sanguine of success that she booked the honeymoon suite before she had even proposed. According to Aristotle, sanguine personalities were caused by too much blood. This book contains vocabulary words based on three other personality types that he identified based on bodily fluids...can you find the rest?

SAP

SAP (sap) v to enervate or weaken the vitality of • Her energy was sapped by the wasting fever; every day she felt a little weaker. As a noun used informally, a sap is a gullible person, a fool. • I can't believe I was such a sap that I believed she would call even though I saw her throw my phone number out the window. A sap can also be a blackjack (a short, leather-covered club) or to hit somebody with such a weapon.

SATIRE

SATIRE (SAT yr) n a literary work that ridicules or criticizes human vice through humor or derision • Swift's Gulliver's Travels is a famous satire in which the protagonist meets strange peoples in his travels, each representing a different aspect of humanity. • His attempts to satirize his boss in the company newsletter were not appreciated. His boss did not like satirical work when she was its object.

SATURNINE

SATURNINE (SAT ur nyn) adj gloomy, dark, sullen, morose • Pedro's saturnine countenance made me think he was either very unhappy or suffering from a bad case of indigestion. • The saturnine principal scared the students with his dark glares, but really he was a pretty nice guy underneath the brooding exterior. Saturnine is similar in definition to melancholy. Like mercurial, it draws its name from astrology and the gods associated with certain planets.

SCURVY

SCURVY (SKUR vee) adj contemptible, despicable • He felt a little guilty about the scurvy trick he had pulled on his friend to get her to loan him a hundred dollars by saying he needed it to visit his dying mother. "Avast, ye scurvy dog" is a common comment to hear one pirate say to another. Scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency that was a familiar part of a sailor's life before the days of refrigeration, canning and supplements, so it makes sense that pirates would incorporate this into their vocabulary as an insult.

SEDULOUS

SEDULOUS (SED yoo lus) adj diligent, persistent, hard-working • His sedulous efforts to organize the conference were rewarded when the entire event went off perfectly. • After years of hard work, he found the missing piece to the puzzle he had so sedulously sought, which allowed him to solve the mystery of the pilot's disappearance.

SEINE

SEINE (sayn) n a large net hung out and dragged in to catch fish • The fishermen were extremely surprised when they caught a mermaid in their seine. Seine also means to fish using a seine, and the Seine is a river in the middle of Paris in which people might seine... or something like that.

SEMINAL

SEMINAL (SEM uh nul) adj like a seed, constituting a source, originative • He wrote the seminal text on robotics; people still study it sixty years later. • The seminal idea that had taken root in his mind years earlier grew into the plans for the invention that was to make him a millionaire.

SERE

SERE (seer) adj withered, arid • Some people have looked at pictures of the sere surface of Mars and imagined the possibility of terraforming that might change the and landscape into something habitable by humans. • Even the sere vegetation at the edge of the desert sent forth new shoots when the brief rains came.

SHARD

SHARD (shard) n a piece of broken pottery or glass, any small piece or part • The archaeologist was able to find enough shards of pottery at the site that she could piece them together to form the contours of the original bowl. • He tried to collect the shards of his dignity after his pants fell down in the middle of his speech.

SIMPER

SIMPER (SIM pur) v to smirk, to say something with a silly, coy smile • Her simpering praise for the famous actress made me want to throw up. • He simpered some feeble attempt at an apology that no one believed. As a noun, simper is the silly smile itself.

SINECURE

SINECURE (SY ni kyoor) n position requiring little or no work and usually providing an income • The evil overlord's sidekick figured he deserved a sinecure after years of faithful and often gory service. • The job was hardly a sinecure; not only was there a ton of work, but there was also no job security. This word was first applied to priests without churches (or without parish duties of curing souls), who were said to have beneficium sine cura.

SINGULAR

SINGULAR (SING yoo lur) adj exceptional, unusual, odd • The singular events of the past week had me thinking I'd lost my mind; first my pet turtle presents me with a list of demands, and then it starts raining humans instead of cats and dogs. • He was singularly ill suited to ballet since he had two left feet.

SINUOUS

SINUOUS (SIN yoo us) adj winding, curving, moving lithely, devious • We were mesmerized by the sinuous weaving of the cobra as the snake charmer sang to it. • The sinuous pattern on the vase was like a river winding back and forth. • It became increasingly difficult to follow the argument as her sinuous logic wound around and around itself.

SOLDER

SOLDER (SAH dur) v to weld, fuse or join, as with a soldering gun • By soldering the broken pieces together, I was able to repair the light fixture. • The charismatic general managed to solder all the factions together into one cohesive army.

SOLICITOUS

SOLICITOUS (suh LI sit us) adj concerned and attentive, eager • It was nice of her to be so solicitous of my comfort as to offer me the couch, but I was fine sleeping on the floor. Her solicitous boyfriend hovered at her elbow all evening, trying to anticipate her every wish, which she started to find somewhat annoying after about five minutes.

SOLVENT

SOLVENT (SAHL vunt) adj able to meet financial obligations • I was solvent for the first time in years, and to celebrate my solvency I went gambling and lost all my money, at which point I had once again become insolvent and had to borrow rent money from my parents again.

SOPHISTRY

SOPHISTRY (SAH fis tree) n fallacious reasoning; plausible but faulty logic • I'm such a sucker for sophistry; I can never see through the convincing surface to the false logic underneath. • The environmentalists claimed that the distinction between "strategic harvesting" and "clear cutting" was merely a political sophistry designed to hide the lumber industry's plans. The Greek root so ph- gave rise to many English words about knowledge—either the love of it, the possession of it, or the lack of it. Philosophy is a love or pursuit of knowledge, and someone with great knowledge of the world might be called sophisticated. Sophistry is somewhat on the opposite path.. .as is sophomoric.

SOPHOMORIC

SOPHOMORIC (sahf MOR ik) adj exhibiting immaturity, lack of judgment, pretentious • You may call my humor sophomoric, but you laughed at all my jokes, so either I'm funny or you're as immature as I am. • Her sophomoric posturing just made her seem pretentious and silly rather than worldly and wise as she had intended. Sophomoric literally means of or pertaining to a sophomore.

SORDID

SORDID (SOR did) ad] characterized by filth, grime, or squalor, foul • The sordid tale of deceit and betrayal in the criminal underworld became an immediate bestseller. • Without any sanitation at all, the sordid slums at the edge of town were likely to suffer another cholera epidemic.

SPARSE

SPARSE (spars) ad] thin, not dense, arranged at widely spaced intervals • Her approval, though sparsely given, made me feel I had accomplished something important. • The sparsely wooded hill looked naked in the winter, without the lush growth of the spring and summer to cover it.

SPECIOUS

SPECIOUS (SPEE shus) ad] seeming true, but actually false, misleadingly attractive • The specious "get rich quick" promises of pyramid schemes have suckered countless people over the years. • The teenager's specious argument for why she should be allowed to stay out past curfew failed to convince her parents.

SPORADIC

SPORADIC (spor AD ik) adj occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances • The sporadic nature of the thunderstorms made them very difficult to predict. • We hoped that the weird appearance of horns on Kurt's forehead would remain sporadic, which would help us pretend he wasn't really growing them.

SPURIOUS

SPURIOUS (SPYOOR ee us) adj lacking authenticity or validity, false, counterfeit • His spurious claim that he had found the fountain of youth was soon proven to be the fraud everyone had suspected. • It was years before anyone discovered that the painting attributed to the young Picasso was spurious, having been painted by a not very famous artist who made his living by painting those pictures you find in hotel rooms.

SQUALID

SQUALID (SKWAH lid) adj sordid, wretched and dirty as from neglect • The squalid living conditions the migrant laborers were forced to endure were simply inhuman; no one should have to live like that. Squalor is a wretched or filthy condition. • Why she was willing to live in squalor, no one could figure out, but she seemed happy enough with two months' worth of dishes in the sink and refuse lying all around.

SQUANDER

SQUANDER (SKWAHN dur) v to waste by spending or using irresponsibly • I would hate to see you squander your talents by making vacuum cleaner bags for the rest of your life instead of the art you really want to create. • He squandered his fortune as quickly as he had made it, ending up exactly where he started.

STANCH

STANCH (stawnch) v to stop the flow of a fluid • The flow of blood from the cut was so slight that half a tissue was all that was needed to stanch it. • All attempts to stanch the hemorrhaging of the company's coffers were futile; the money just kept pouring out as costs increased exponentially. Don't confuse this with staunch, an adjective, meaning firmly committed. To make it really confusing, sometimes stanch is spelled staunch, and vice versa, but you should be able to figure out the word's meaning from context.

STATIC

STATIC (STAT ik) adj not moving, active or in motion; at rest • The population of the town had been static for years; no one had moved in or out, been born or died in the whole place. • She couldn't stay static for more than five minutes at a time before she started bouncing off the walls again.

STEEP

STEEP (steep) v to saturate or completely soak • Her plan was to spend three months in Paris and come back steeped in French culture, but all she ended up with was a fuchsia beret from the souvenir shop. • The old castle is steeped in history; you can practically feel it oozing out of every corner as you walk around.

STENTORIAN

STENTORIAN (sten TOR ee un) adj extremely loud and powerful • Her grandfather's stentorian voice could be heard from anywhere in the house, and when he issued a command, everyone moved immediately. • Is it absolutely necessary to keep the stereo on at such a stentorian volume that people five blocks away can hear it?

STINT

STINT (stint) v to restrain, be sparing or frugal • I hate to stint on dessert, so I always save room for at least two portions. • Since I didn't want to stint on her birthday, I got her a cake and a present. Stinting, and its opposite, unstinting are the adjectives that mean restraining and bestowed liberally, respectively. • Her unstinting support for my lemonade stand, both supplier of the product and most loyal customer, gave me my start as an entrepreneur. Stint as a noun means a length of time spent in a specific way, as in a stint in the military, in the White House, or as a roadie.

STOIC

STOIC (STOH ik) adj indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain, steadfast • Lorelei's stoic indifference to the pain of her dislocated shoulder was disconcerting; it was impossible to tell anything was wrong from the expression on her face. Stoicism is the noun. • Vulcans, such as Mr. Spock, practice stoicism, exercising extremely tight control over their emotions.

STOLID

STOLID (STAH lid) ad] calm, impassive • Ian's stolid nature and formidable physique make him perfect for a job as a Buckingham Palace guard. If you associate this word with solid, you have a built-in memory aid; stolid people show little animation or emotion.

STUPEFY

STUPEFY (STOO puh fy) v to stun, baffle, or amaze • Stupefied by the blow to his head, Scott just kept bumping into more and more things, getting more and more dazed. • We were stupefied by the sight of a hippopotamus dancing with a kangaroo.

SUBTLE

SUBTLE (SUH tul) adj not obvious, elusive, difficult to discern, crafty or sly • The subtle flavors of the sauce were difficult to detect individually, but together they created a unique and delicious dish. • We had to admire the subtlety of her scheme; she had managed to steal half the gold in the treasury before anyone even knew it was missing.

SUNDRY

SUNDRY (SUN dree) adj various, miscellaneous, separate • Of the sundry items for sale, the young boy was most interested in the elaborate water pistol. • My backpack is filled to overflowing with sundry items, but somehow I can never find what I need. If you've heard the phrase torn asunder, you are familiar with the etymology of this word. Sundry originally meant separate or distinct, but now also means various.

SUPERCILIOUS

SUPERCILIOUS (soo pur SIL ee us) adj disdainful, arrogant, haughty, characterized by haughty scorn • The snotty salesperson looked at the clothes I was wearing with a supercilious expression and apparently decided I wasn't worth her time, so she went back to filing her nails. • I was extremely surprised when he told me he had initially taken my shyness for superciliousness; luckily he later changed his mind and realized I wasn't stuck-up after all.

SUPINE

SUPINE (SOO pyn) adj inactive, lying on one's back, apathetic, mentally or morally slack • We spent hours supine on the floor looking up at the glow-in-the-dark stars we had pasted on the ceiling. • Our supine acceptance of the corruption taking place all around us means we have few to blame for the consequences other than ourselves. Supine means lying face up and prone means lying face down.

SUPPLANT

SUPPLANT (sup PLANT) v to take the place of, supersede • I was quickly supplanted in my girlfriend's affections by her new beau, and a month later she didn't even remember my name. • Some people have argued that as e-mail supplants letter writing, whole new modes of thinking and communicating are being born.

SUPPLIANT

SUPPLIANT (sup PLY unt) adj asking humbly, beseeching • The suppliant expression on the boy's face would have melted anyone's will to refuse him want he wanted. • Stubbornly, the band refused the suppliant crowd's plea for them to play their hit song; they were simply too sick of playing it night after night. As a noun, a suppliant is the same thing as a supplicant.

SUPPLICANT

SUPPLICANT (SUP Ii kant) n beggar, one who prays or begs for something • A long line of supplicants awaited the magistrate each Thursday, which is when he heard petitions for assistance from the very poor. A supplicant is supplicating when he or she begs for something. Supplication is related to application, or the act of bringing yourself close to something. In supplication, though, there is the element of folding the legs under, or kneeling, that gives the sup- prefix.

SURFEIT

SURFEIT (SUR fut) v to feed or supply in excess • The girls surfeited themselves with candy and cookies at the birthday party, and all came home with stomachaches. Surfeit is also a noun, meaning excess, overindulgence. • A surfeit of cooks is said to spoil the broth.

SYCOPHANT

SYCOPHANT (SIK uh funt) n someone who tries to flatter or please for personal gain, parasite • The young basketball player has an entourage of sycophants, all hoping to gain his favor and receive expensive gifts when he becomes rich. • She had been surrounded by sycophants her whole life, so she had never received any honest criticism of her behavior.

SYNTHESIS

SYNTHESIS (SIN thuh sus) n the combination of parts to make a whole • Snowboarding is a synthesis of skateboarding, surfing, and skiing. • As much as he tried to find a synthesis of his desires to stay up late and wake up early, he was never able to do both.

TACITURN

TACITURN (TA sit urn) ad] not talkative, silent • Although Steve was taciturn in public and with people he didn't know, he was very talkative when he was with his friends. • Their usually taciturn boss became downright loquacious whenever she had a couple of drinks. Taciturn shares a root with the Italian tacet, which in music, means to be quiet or rest. Tacit, similarly, means implied or not directly stated. • We chose to understand his failure to say we couldn't go as tacit permission to do so.

TALISMAN

TALISMAN (TAL iz mun) n something believed to have magic power or bestow good luck • Dumbo's talisman was a red feather; he believed that his ability to fly stemmed from carrying it with him. • Though I am generally not a superstitious person, I keep a rabbit's foot in my pocket as a talisman for good luck.

TAMP

TAMP (tamp) v to plug, to drive in or down by a series of blows • The old man had a very specific ritual for tamping the tobacco into his pipe, and he repeated it all day long even though he never actually lit the pipe. • After placing the saplings in the holes and filling them in with soil, we tamped down the ground around each tree.

TAUTOLOGY

TAUTOLOGY (taw TAHL uh gee) n a repetition, a redundancy, a circular argument • "There can be no such thing as obscenity in art because art is not obscene" is a tautology. • His argument was tautological because he never introduced any support for his claim, he just kept repeating it over and over.

TENDER

TENDER (TEN dur) v to offer formally • We refused the terms of the truce the other side tendered, because they wanted us to surrender our water balloons first. • Frances planned to tender her resignation first thing in the morning, though she secretly hoped her boss would talk her out of leaving.

TENUOUS

TENUOUS (TEN yoo us) adj having little substance or strength, flimsy, weak • Tyler's grasp on mathematics has always been somewhat tenuous; he understands addition fairly well, but subtraction poses some challenges. • Although the plot of the movie was at best tenuous, the performances of the supporting cast were amazing enough to make the movie worth watching.

TERSE

TERSE (turs) adj brief and concise in wording • Keith's terse, one-word answers made it clear that he was upset, since he is usually very talkative when he is happy.

TIMOROUS

TIMOROUS (TIM or us) adj timid, fearful, diffident • Mice are supposed to be timorous, but the one living behind the fridge seems very bold and completely unafraid of me. • His timorous request to speak was drowned out by the loud arguing amongst the rest of the members of the panel, and he wasn't confident enough to shout over them.

TIRADE

TIRADE (TYE rayd) n a long and extremely critical speech, harsh denunciation • The students were wary of asking any questions about contemporary literature, afraid that the professor would launch into one of his lengthy tirades against the decline of American literature over the last century. • Alex didn't think he could stand one more tirade about the rising cost of toothpaste, so he excused himself from the conference on dental hygiene and went to eat lunch.

TOADY

TOADY (TOH dee) n sycophant, flatterer, yes-man • Lewis could always rely on his trusty toady to tell him what he wanted to hear, even if it didn't match up to reality in any way. To toady is to behave like a toady. • The king trusted his gardener more than anyone else, because the gardener refused to toady to him; he could therefore believe that what she said was true, rather than something designed to curry favor.

TRANSIENT

TRANSIENT (IRAN zee unt) adj fleeting, passing quickly, brief • In June the summer always seemed so long, but by September it always seemed so transient. • Leslie grabbed the transient opportunity to join the band on tour, knowing that she only had a brief window in which the offer would be open. Transience is the state of being transient. • The suitcase that never got unpacked was just one sign of his perpetual transience.

TRAVESTY

TRAVESTY (TRAV est ee) n mockery, caricature, parody • The defendant argued that the proceedings were a travesty of a trial since he did not have a lawyer representing him. As a verb, travesty means to imitate in such a way as to ridicule. • The satire travestied the inner circle of the governor's administration.

TRENCHANT

TRENCHANT (TREN chunt) adj sharply perceptive, keen, penetrating, biting, clear cut • His trenchant criticism of the report revealed the fundamentally flawed premise on which it was based. • Eric could always be counted on to perform the trenchant analysis that would unearth what had gone wrong in the project thus far. • Although she made very trenchant distinctions about what was right and wrong in other people's actions, she was less clear cut about her own behavior.

TRUCULENT

TRUCULENT (TRUK yoo lunt) ad] fierce, scathing, eager to fight • Her truculent opposition to the building of a new chemical plant made her a minor celebrity in her hometown, where she was regarded as a fierce crusader for the rights of the townspeople. • The truculent trucker had already been arrested five times this year for starting barroom brawls.

TUMID

TUMID (TOO mud) adj swollen • The river, tumid from the spring rains, overflowed its banks and flooded the surrounding fields. Tumescence is swelling. • Elmer put ice on his face to try to reduce the tumescence of the black eye he got while fighting with the truculent trucker.

TURBID

TURBID (TUR bud) adj muddy, having sediment stirred up, clouded to the point of being opaque, in a state of turmoil • The coffee was so turbid from the grounds that seeped through the filter that it looked like mud. • Grace's mind was so turbid with anxieties over how she was going to handle the next day that she couldn't sleep all night.

TURGID

TURGID (TUR jid) adj swollen, bloated, pompous, excessively ornate • Her turgid prose would have been difficult to take in any context, but it was particularly ill suited to a computer how-to book. • The water balloons were so turgid that they would pop at the slightest pressure. Turgid is a synonym for tumid.

TURPITUDE

TURPITUDE (TUR puh toad) n depravity, baseness • Because he had been caught stealing from the orphanage's fund, he was immediately dismissed on the grounds of moral turpitude. • Claiming that shopping malls were marketplaces of turpitude, Ms. Snow declared that the morally correct thing to do was to shop exclusively by mail.

TYRO

TYRO (TV roh) n novice, beginner in learning • Although he was only a tyro at the game of chess, he was able to win most of his matches against more experienced players. • It became clear that he was a tyro when he showed the whole table his cards. Neophyte is a synonym for tyro.

succumb

To give up or give in to; to yield; to die (e.g. "after a long fight with cancer, so-and-so succumbed to the illness")

disperse

To scatter, spread far and wide (e.g. "one purpose of the Smithsonian is to disperse knowledge around the country")

UBIQUITOUS

UBIQUITOUS (yoo BIK wuh tus) adj existing everywhere at the same time, constantly encountered, widespread • Many animals that were once nearly ubiquitous in North America, such as the passenger pigeon, are now extinct. Ubiquity is the state of being everywhere at the same time. • The ubiquity of the ad campaign ended up working against it; people got so sick of seeing it everywhere all the time that they vowed never to buy the product it advertised.

UMBRAGE

UMBRAGE (UM brij) n offense, resentment • I decided not to take umbrage at his insults because I know he was just trying to get a response, and ignoring him would be the most satisfying revenge.

UNTENABLE

UNTENABLE (un TEN uh bul) adj indefensible, not viable, uninhabitable • The president realized he was in an untenable position when even his own cabinet disagreed with him. • Barry was unsure why his girlfriend was arguing that their long distance relationship was untenable when they'd been making it work for two years already.

UPBRAID

UPBRAID (up BRAYD) v to scold, censure, rebuke, chastise • Nathan was thoroughly upbraided for having gone over his boss's head with a proposal. An upbraiding is a severe scolding. • When I showed up three hours late without the one thing that I was supposed to bring home for dinner, I suspected I was in for a serious upbraiding.

URBANE

URBANE (ur BAYN) adj sophisticated, refined, elegant • He was particularly proud of his urbane manners, since it was important to him that no one guesses he grew up in a log cabin. • She was always claiming that her urbane tastes could only truly be satisfied back in Paris or Milan, but we suspected she'd never even been there.

VACILLATE

VACILLATE (VA sil ayt) v to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another, sway from one side to the other • Harry kept vacillating between vanilla and chocolate ice cream for so long that the waiter finally just brought him a scoop of each. Vacillation is what happens when you vacillate. • Karen's endless vacillation over every minor decision became so annoying to her friends that they just started making all of her decisions for her.

VENAL

VENAL (VEE nut) ad] capable of being bought or bribed, mercenary • The presence of the venal juror who accepted a bribe resulted in an acquittal. Venality is the use of position for personal gain. • Rampant venality in city politics eroded everyone's trust in the system. Venal and venality share a root with vendors and vending machines—all refer to people (or machines) to whom we give money in exchange for goods and services. Venal, though, has a bad connotation—much worse than even a vending machine that eats your money and gives you nothing in return.

VENERATE

VENERATE (VEN uh rayt) v to revere • The members of the boy band were venerated by their young fans, whose parents failed to understand the appeal at all. Veneration is respect or reverence. • Food and incense were placed on the shrine to their ancestors as signs of veneration.

VERACITY

VERACITY (vuh RAS uh tee) n truthfulness, honesty • I would never have doubted your veracity if you hadn't had your fingers crossed and been muttering under your breath. • A lie detector is a device used to measure the veracity of someone's statements. Be careful not to confuse veracity with voracity, which means ravenous or very eager. The root ver deals with truth, and is shared by aver, verisimilitude, and veritable, as well as very!

VERISIMILITUDE

VERISIMILITUDE (ver uh si MIL i tood) n appearing true or real • The verisimilitude of the wax figures was uncanny; they looked as if they would start to move and speak at any minute. • The playwright tried to achieve historical verisimilitude by writing dialogue in the dialect of the region and time in which the play was set.

VERITABLE

VERITABLE (VER i tuh bul) ad] authentic, real, genuine • Once thirty inches of snow had fallen and visibility had been reduced to nothing, we realized we were in the middle of a veritable blizzard. • In this district, for a candidate to receive sixty percent of the vote is a veritable landslide.

VEXATION

VEXATION (veks AY shun) n annoyance, irritation • Louise began to suspect that her frequent tardiness was a source of vexation to her boss when she saw him pacing around and looking at the clock every morning. Vexation is a multi-purpose word in that it can mean the act of causing irritation, the irritation itself or the state of being irritated. To vex is to annoy or puzzle. • Shannon was vexed by her inability to buy the right lottery ticket and win a million dollars.

VIGILANT

VIGILANT (VIJ uh lunt) ad] alertly watchful • Jimmy was always particularly vigilant around the holidays, watching for any sign of what presents he might get. • Trina is vigilant about Chris' diet, keeping careful track of how much cholesterol he consumes each day.

VILIFY

VILIFY (VIL uh fy) v to defame, characterize harshly • The animal rights activist vilified the manufacturers of fur coats for cruelty to animals. • Although the politicians were vilified in the press for their role in the scandal, they received no official sanction. When you vilify someone, you are engaged in vilification. • Her campaign of vilification backfired because it made her look petty to be attacking her opponent in that way. Anyone who has heard of villain has a built-in association to vilify.

VIRULENT

VIRULENT (VEER uh lunt) ad] extremely harmful or poisonous, bitterly hostile or antagonistic • The strain of flu virus that year was particularly virulent and caused a national health crisis. Virulence is extreme harmfulness or bitterness. • The virulence of her response surprised me; I had no idea she was still so angry about something that happened ten years ago.

VOLATILE

VOLATILE (VAHL uh tul) adj readily changing to a vapor; changeable, fickle, explosive • It was a volatile situation, with both parties to the negotiations changing their positions frequently, and each threatening to walk out if the other side didn't agree to the terms. • Liquids are called volatile if they evaporate, or change to a vapor, rapidly. Alcohol and kerosene are examples of volatile liquids.

VORACIOUS

VORACIOUS Ivor AY shus) adj having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit, ravenous • Michelle was a voracious reader; as a kid she read under the bed and under the covers at night with a flashlight. • The voracious mosquitoes were so hungry for our blood that no amount of citronella would keep them away, so we had to go inside.

WELTER

WELTER (WEL tur) v to writhe, to toss about, to be in turmoil • The lake weltered in the storm, tossing the boat up on huge waves. Welter is also a noun, meaning a state of turmoil or chaotic jumble. • He'd searched through the welter of papers on his desk for the contract but couldn't find it.

WHIMSICAL

WHIMSICAL (WIM zi kul) adj imaginative; unpredictable While you usually see this word used in a fanciful, playful way, it can have a bad connotation. • When Iris was a child, she dreamt of living in a whimsical world not unlike that in the fantasy cartoons she saw on television. Whim and whimsy are related nouns. • The entrepreneur ran her company like a dictatorship; everyone was subject to the whims of the boss.

ZEALOUS

ZEALOUS (ZEL us) adj fervent, ardent, impassioned • The team's zealous fans stormed the field at the end of each game, even the ones the team lost. • She started to suspect she had become a little overzealous when she realized she was stalking five different Elvis impersonators at the same time. To be zealous is to be filled with zeal. • Have you gained a new zeal for learning vocabulary yet?

churl

a bad-tempered person; a selfish person who is unwilling to give or spend; a crude, uncouth, ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement (e.g. "to call someone a churl is tautological to calling him/her a philistine") চাষাভুসো , নিচু জাতের লোক

chameleon

a changeable or inconstant person (e.g. "I dislike chameleons: they will always mouth the party line, but they don't seem to have any opinions of their own") এক জাতীয় গিরগিটি , সুবিধাবাদী লোক

inclination

a characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward a certain condition or character or effect (e.g. "he possesses an inclination to doing math problems; he actually enjoys doing that")

anthology

a collection of selected literary passages (e.g. "I own several anthologies of poetry; my favorite is one with poems only by Robert Frost") সাহিত্যসংকলন , রচনাসংগ্রহ , সঞ্চয়ন , চয়নিকা

rogue

a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel (e.g. "in 'Pride and Prejudice', one character, Lizzy, falls in love with Mr. Wickham, who is a rogue")

facade

a deceptive outward appearance; a misrepresentation (e.g. "his outer lightheartedness was merely a facade covering the pain and anger he felt within")

chasm

a deep opening in the earth's surface (e.g. "After Mary said she didn't like chocolate, a huge chasm opened up beneath her, and she fell in: a classic case of retribution after a person defies the natural order.") গভীর খাদ , অনেক তফাৎ

affectation

a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display (e.g. "The rich man's apparent delight at the return of his long-lost sister was merely an affectation, because he didn't want to have to share any of his money with her.") ভান ছল

archives

a depository containing historical records and documents (e.g. "although I personally don't know the answer to your question, you could look through the city archives; they probably have the answer") কাগজপত্র (N), নথিপত্র (N)

facet

a distinct feature or element in a problem (e.g. "it appears that we have not been working on separate problems; on the contrary, we have merely been working on different facets of the same problem!")

denomination

a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body (e.g. "not only is the millionaire rich, but he also only carries large denominations of currency in his wallet: 50s and 100s")

dogma

a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative (e.g. "Ted, mentioned two examples ago, holds the dogma that the moon is made of green cheese. His dogma is very incorrect")

mandate

a document giving an official instruction or command (e.g. "John Smith, ruler of Timbuktu, mandated that everyone had to give him 99.99% of their yearly income")

elation

a feeling of joy and pride (e.g. "he felt a feeling of elation as he stepped onto to the stage to claim his well-deserved reward")

avant-garde

a group active in the invention and application of new techniques in a given field, especially in the arts (e.g. "although he enjoys deceiving himself by believing that he is among the avant-garde of painters, he is really nothing but a dilettante")

lobby

a group of people who try actively to influence legislation (e.g. "The CEO of the company lobbied to get a bill passed which would automatically give all CEOs in the country $5 million of federal government funds")

triumvirate

a group of three men responsible for public administration or civil authority (e.g. "After Julius Caesar's death, Rome was ruled by a triumvirate.")

elite

a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status (e.g. "although the elite in a Communist society do indeed possess great wealth, the common people -- the plebeians, if you will -- possess very little, which is rather ironic, since the purpose of a socialist state is to provide equal wealth and opportunity for all")

breach

a hole or opening in something (such as a wall) made by breaking through it, break through (e.g. "the breach in the castle's defenses is small, but it is large enough to be their undoing") চুক্তিভঙ্গ; This is clearly a breach of the treaty. বিরতি, হানি, ভঙ্গ, চ্যুতি, বিদীর্ণ করা, খেলাপ করা, বিচ্ছেদ, ফাটল, লঙ্ঘন, বিরোধ, ব্যত্যয়, খেলাপ, ছিদ্র করা, ফাটল তৈরি করা

exodus

a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment (e.g. "after the person announced that the theater was on fire, there was a mass exodus from the theater")

jaunt

a journey taken for pleasure (e.g. "After our trip to Honduras, we plan on taking a little jaunt to Australia, before coming back to England")

pilgrimage

a journey to a sacred place (e.g. "After my pilgrimage to Elvis Presley's hometown, I plan on visiting the hometowns of other famous musicians.")

implication

a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred; an accusation that brings into intimate and usually incriminating connection; a relation implicated by virtue of involvement or close connection (especially an incriminating involvement) (e.g. "Einstein's theory had startling implications on the scientific world of the time, as it stated that time is relative, and only the speed of light itself is constant")

correlation

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other (e.g. "it seems that there is a strong correlation between how much a person eats, and how much he weighs") পারস্পরিক সম্পর্ক , পারম্পর্য , সংগতি , সামঞ্জস্য

insurgent

a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment (e.g. "when the people of Timbuktu became fed up with their monarch, John Smith, they organized an army of insurgents: John Smith called out the army, but the army didn't know who to shoot at, because the insurgents operated under cover of darkness and no one could figure out who was an insurgent and who was merely an ordinary citizen")

surmise

a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence; infer from incomplete evidence; imagine to be the case or true or probable (e.g. "I surmise that you have been drinking again, since your speech is slurred and the smell of alcohol is on your breath.")

respite

a pause from doing something (as work) (e.g. "spring break is a welcome respite from schoolwork for students")

archetype

a perfect example of something (e.g. "Although John Smith's archetype of a death ray machine he wanted to invent worked, when he tried to make the real thing, it blew up and killed him.") ব্যক্তির অচেতন মতে স্থিত সমগ্র জাতির অভিজ্ঞতাপ্রসূত ধারণা , আদিরূপ

mercenary

a person hired to fight for another country than their own (e.g. "in the American Revolution, the British hired mercenaries to fight against America; this action was not conducive to peaceful relations between the Americans and the British")

egalitarian

a person who believes in the equality of all people, favoring social equality (e.g. "Beverly was a fervent egalitarian: she believe in equal economic opportunity and equal access to education for all")

proponent

a person who pleads for a cause or propounds an idea (e.g. "the major proponents of the new bill, which called for federal subsidies to go to the builders of a new dam, were members of the company which was building the dam")

protégé

a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protégé's career (e.g. "He not only knew Hitler, he was actually Hitler's protégé; he was directly influenced by Hitler!")

penitent

a person who repents for wrongdoing (e.g. "after five-year-old Tommy accidentally instigated an international incident which culminated in a global thermonuclear war, he was penitent; that is, he was sorry")

charisma

a personal attractiveness that enables one to influence others (e.g. "Hitler had an aura of charisma around him, which was in part why he was able to say and do such unbelievably bad things without a civil uprising.") ঈশ্বরদত্ত আধ্যাত্মিক শক্তি

arsenal

a place where arms are manufactured; a military structure where arms and ammunition and other military equipment are stored and training is given in the use of arms; all the weapons and equipment that a country has (e.g. "the country's arsenal includes a formidable array of nuclear weapons, so I wouldn't recommend provoking war against them") অস্ত্রাগার (N), শস্ত্রাগার (N), আয়ুধশালা (N), সেলাখানা (N), অস্ত্র (N), শস্ত্র (N), হাতিয়ার (N), উপকরণ (N), সাধন (N), উপায় (N), সহায় (N)

confluence

a place where things merge or flow together (especially rivers) (e.g. "Quebec was built on the confluence of two rivers.") সংগমস্থল , সংগম , সমপ্রবাহী হওয়া , বিপুল জনসমাবেশ

manifesto

a public declaration of intentions (as issued by a political party or government) (e.g. "Karl Marx wrote 'The Communist Manifesto', which was a book which contained his political theories regarding Communism")

pathos

a quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow); a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others; a style that has the power to evoke feelings (e.g. "Hitler's pathos was able to persuade many people that he was the messiah of Germany.")

retort

a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one); answer back (e.g. "My retort to his insult included a clever allusion to Shakespeare; unfortunately, he had absolutely no knowledge of Shakespeare, so he was unimpressed.")

epigraph

a quotation at the beginning of some piece of writing (e.g. "All of my books began with an epigraph by Mark Twain; he was my favorite author")

shackle

a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner); restrain with fetters, bind the arms of (e.g. "Galileo was metaphorically shackled by the geocentric views of the Catholic Church of the day; he also may have been physically shackled for the same reason.")

prerogative

a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right) (e.g. "it was the prerogative of the nobles of the oligarchy to make up the rules; the rest of the people simply had to live with it")

incantation

a ritual recitation of words or sounds believed to have a magical effect (e.g. "the witchdoctor chanted a few words of hocus-pocus and then announced that his incantation would make the world blow up in four hours")

maxim

a saying that widely accepted on its own merits (e.g. "the maxim, 'a penny saved is a penny earned' has been repeated to the point that it has become platitudinous")

egocentric

a self-centered person with little regard for others; also an adjective to describe such a person (e.g. "William's egocentric personality did not win him any lifelong friends; all the people he came into contact with walked away with the impression that William was merely a conceited jerk")

critique

a serious examination and judgment of something (e.g. "my English teacher's critique of my paper left me elated, as she had said nothing but compliments about it")

inquisition

a severe interrogation (often violating the rights or privacy of individuals) (e.g. "during the Spanish Inquisition, a period in time in which the Catholic Church persecuted and tortured "heretics", the Church demonstrated a pathetic failure to behave according to the verse in the Bible which reads, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'")

parable

a short moral story (often with animal characters) (e.g. "The parable of the tortoise and the hare was allegedly written by Aesop.")

epilogue

a short passage added at the end of a literary work (e.g. "I did not feel that the end of the book was satisfactory; I believe that it needed a short epilogue to wrap up all of the remaining plot lines")

predicament

a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one (e.g. "After the aliens from Mars kidnapped Mr. Smith and subjected him to all kinds of dangerous radiation, Mr. Smith considered himself to be in a rather unenviable predicament; he was right.")

plight

a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one (e.g. "Our plight is rather difficult; it is hard to see how we can escape from half a dozen big, green aliens with big, blue ray guns.")

impasse

a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible (e.g. "in my argument with my friend, we reached an impasse: both of us dogmatically held onto our own views, yet we each sought futilely to convince the other that the other was wrong")

apartheid

a social policy or racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against non-whites (e.g. "Until recently, apartheid was practiced in South Africa; those of African descent were discriminated against.") দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার বর্ণবৈষম্য নীতি

chortle

a soft partly suppressed laugh (e.g. "Uncle Joe chortled. 'I don't think that you will get very far, if you do it that way,' he said") উৎকট চাপা হাসি

millennium

a span of 1000 years (e.g. "Although for millennia our civilization has been oppressed by all others, we now will conquer the world!")

impresario

a sponsor who books and stages public entertainments (e.g. "the impresario is not a philanthropist: he charges an exorbitant fee to all who wish to see the operas and other entertainments which he sponsors")

armistice

a state of peace agreed to between opponents so they can discuss peace terms (e.g. "considering that the country against which we are warring has enough firepower to blow us off of the face of the planet, I would recommend that we campaign for an armistice between our country and theirs") সাময়িক সন্ধি , সাময়িক যুদ্ধবিরতি , অস্ত্রসংবরণ

premise

a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn (e.g. "a syllogism has three parts: a major premise, a minor premise, and the conclusion drawn from them")

bastion

a stronghold into which people could go for shelter during a battle (e.g. "The members of Krakow, Poland used the central castle of the city as a bastion when the Mongols invaded it.") ঘাঁটি the rebel army retreated to its bastion in the mountains to regroup

arcade

a structure composed of a series of arches supported (e.g. "as I walked through the arcade, I noticed that the weather was becoming rather stormy") খিলানে ঢাকা পথ , বিপণিশোভিত আচ্ছাদিত পথ

edifice

a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place (e.g. "the Empire State Building is an imposing edifice")

fiasco

a sudden and violent collapse (e.g. "after the Watergate fiasco, the American public had much less trust in their president")

bravado

a swaggering show of courage (e.g. "'Give me liberty, or give me death!' Patrick Henry finished with bravado.") বাহাদুরি

ecosystem

a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment (e.g. "one reason why pollution can so drastically effect an ecosystem is that all of the species in an ecosystem effect each other; if one species is affected, the others are affected as well")

underpinning

a system of supports beneath; a foundation or basis (e.g. "The bomb destroyed the underpinnings of the building. Shortly thereafter, the building collapsed.")

nomenclature

a system of words used in a particular discipline (e.g. "Carolus Linnaeus invented modern biological nomenclature.")

agenda

a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to (e.g. "The first item on the city council's agenda was to perform a roll call.") সম্পাদ্য কার্যাবলী , সভায় আলোচ্য বিষয়তালিকা

overture

a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others; orchestral music played at the beginning of an opera or oratorio; something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows (e.g. "My initial overtures to my father were flatly rejected, and as I saw no purpose in pursuing the matter further, I let the matter drop.")

thesis

a treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research; an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument (e.g. "Although I personally disagree with the thesis of your argument, I do agree that it was brilliantly argued.")

throttle

a valve that regulates the supply of fuel to the engine; kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air (e.g. "'If you say that again, I'll throttle you!' warned the man.")

bedlam

a very noisy and confused state or scene (e.g. "the word 'bedlam' originates from an insane asylum in England named 'Bedlam'; to say that a place was in a state of bedlam is to say that it figuratively reminded one of an insane asylum") পাগলা গারদ;হট্টমেলা The Pahela boishakh never had so many visitors at one time. It was total bedlam.

magnate

a very wealthy or powerful businessman (e.g. "John Smith, oil magnate of Timbuktu, holds a monopoly on the oil there -- he can charge whatever prices he wants, and the public must still buy from him")

epigram

a witty saying (e.g. "in the book, 'The Secret Garden,' the playmates of the main character, Mary, invent a rhyme about her: 'Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?'. Although they might have considered this an epigram, it really wasn't all that witty at all")

acronym

a word formed from the initial letters of a multi-word name (e.g. "although most people simply call the TV network 'CNN', 'CNN' is really an acronym for 'Cable News Network'") বিভিন্ন শব্দের আদ্যক্ষর দিয়ে সংক্ষিপ্ত নির্দেশক শব্দ

abstinent

abstaining; voluntarily not doing something, especially something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation (e.g. "Mary Jones had no problem abstaining from chocolate for a month; she's allergic to it anyway.") পরিহারক (Adj.), মিতাচারী (Adj.), উপরত (Adj.)

palatable

acceptable to the taste or mind (e.g. "His suggestion was unpalatable to me, for although I could understand his reasoning, I took exception to the means by which he meant to accomplish his goal.")

accouterments

accessories (e.g. "our accouterments were few, as our monetary funds were so limited that anything more than the bare necessities would have been a most prodigal extravagance")

arraign

accuse of a wrong or an inadequacy; call before a court to answer an indictment (e.g. "I arraigned my enemy with the accusation that he was an idiot; he did not deny the charge") অভিযুক্ত করা , বিচারের জন্য আদালতে হাজির করা

transgress

act in disregard of laws and rules (e.g. "the driver transgressed the speed limit law for that area by speeding at 95 miles per hour in a 15 miles per hour zone")

redress

act of correcting an error or a fault or an evil; a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury; make reparations or amends for (e.g. "'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.' -- the 1st amendment to the Constitution of the United States")

infringe

advance beyond the usual limit, go against, as of rules and laws (e.g. "if I am speaking, and a government official tells me to shut up, then he is infringing on my right to freedom of speech")

demure

affectedly modest or shy especially in a playful or provocative way (e.g. "Lovisa demurely asked Harry to dance with her")

systemic

affecting an entire system (e.g. "Although I sincerely wish that I could propose a 'quick-fix solution', unfortunately, the problem is systemic -- to fix the problem would require an overhaul of the entire system.")

audacity

aggressive boldness or unmitigated effrontery (e.g. "The manager of the store had the audacity to ask the robbers to give him their ID. Amazingly, they did!") দুঃসাহস , ঔদ্ধত্য , স্পর্ধা , ধৃষ্টতা , গোঁয়ার্তুমি

consensus

agreement in the judgment or opinion reached by a group as a whole (e.g. "After we reached a consensus, we decided to inform our teacher of our idea for our project.") সর্বসম্মতি , ঐক্যমত্য , অধিকাংশের মত , সংখ্যাগরিষ্�� ের মত

posterity

all future generations; all of the offspring of a given progenitor (e.g. "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and ensure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.")

abomination

an action that is vicious or vile (e.g. "such acts as were committed by those like Pol Pot and Hitler are abominations to all humankind") তীব্র ঘৃণা ও বিরাগ

angst

an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety (e.g. "as I entered the haunted house, a distinct feeling of angst pierced my soul") উদ্বেগ , আশঙ্কা

double entendre

an ambiguity with one interpretation that is indelicate (e.g. "although at first glance the new novel may seem decent and respectable, in reality, it is full of double entendres with the most indecent meanings")

cherub

an angel of the second order whose gift is knowledge, a sweet innocent baby (e.g. "although cherubim (pl. of cherub) are usually represented by winged babies, there is no indication in the Christian Bible -- the book which contains mention of cherubim -- that that is their physical appearance") দেবদূত , কিন্নর , চাঁদের কণা

monarchy

an autocracy governed by a monarch who usually inherits the authority (e.g. "Before the rebels took over, Timbuktu was a monarchy, and John Smith was the king.")

lout

an awkward stupid person (e.g. "You lout! You just destroyed my prize vase!")

idiom

an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up; a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language; the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people (e.g. "the saying 'he's a wolf in sheep's clothing' is an idiom; it's not meant to be taken literally: one doesn't mean that the person in question is literally a malevolent canine, nor that he is wearing wool clothing")

allegory

an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances (e.g. "'The Pilgrim's Progress', by John Bunyan, is an allegory describing the travels of a man, Christian, on a journey to the Celestial City") রূপক , রূপকধর্মী রচনা , রূপককাহিনী

herald

an indication of the approach of something or someone (e.g. "an economic downturn usually heralds an upcoming recession or depression")

vestige

an indication that something has been present (e.g. "the last vestige of the former regime is the constitution drafted during that era")

innuendo

an indirect (and usually malicious) implication (e.g. "Even in G-rated movies, there can be a number of sexual innuendos.")

patrimony

an inheritance coming by right of birth (especially by primogeniture) (e.g. "The spoiled, rich kid inherited a patrimony of over $100 million when his father died.")

placebo

an innocuous or inert medication (e.g. "No wonder the medication didn't seem to have any affect on you; the doctor accidentally prescribed a placebo for you, rather than something that would actually help your ailment!")

epitaph

an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there (e.g. "Hilbert was the most annoying person I've ever met; even the people at his funeral seemed glad he was dead, and his epitaph read, 'Thank goodness he's gone'")

interlude

an intervening period or episode (e.g. "after the startling revelation but before the dramatic conclusion, there was a brief interlude in the television show during which advertisements ran")

medium

an intervening substance through which something is achieved; a liquid with which pigment is mixed by a painter (e.g. "I seriously doubt that your idea is best disseminated through the medium of television; I think that radio would be more suitable.")

mania

an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action (e.g. "He has a mania for technology; he has to own the latest gizmos and the best gadgets, or else he is unhappy.")

rout

an overwhelming defeat; defeat disastrously; cause to flee (e.g. "Our forces have routed the rebel fleet, sir.")

arrears

an unpaid overdue debt (e.g. "your arrears total to over $500,000 dollars, and since you cannot pay the debt, I would recommend that you either declare bankruptcy at once or else start working immediately to pay off your debt") বকেয়া (N), বাকি (N), বাকি পাত্তনা (N), বিলাতবাকি (N)

prodigy

an unusually gifted or intelligent (young) person (e.g. "Mozart was a child prodigy: at the age of five he composed his own music, and at six he played before royalty")

indignant

angered at something unjust or wrong (e.g. "probably, Sarah Cleghorn wrote the poem 'The Golf Links Lie so Near the Mill' because she was indignant at the child labor which was rife at the time")

fatalist

anyone who submits to the belief that they are powerless to change their destiny (e.g. "Ronald was a fatalist; he believed that his karma was unchangeable and that if he was destined to die that day, he would die, no matter what he did. As a result, he was very careless, and got hit by a car one day and died.")

requisite

anything indispensable (e.g. "being a good speaker is a requisite for running for president")

chronology

arrangement of events in time (e.g. "My chronology mentioned in the last example was flawed.") কালপঞ্জি , কালক্রম

quasi

as if; somewhat (e.g. "The quasi-intellectual groups in our town claim to support logical, method scientific reasoning, and they actually manage to make good their claim -- sometimes; they certainly don't manage to do that all of the time.")

allocate

assign; set apart for a particular purpose (e.g. The government allocates a certain amount of money each year for various projects.") বণ্টন করা , বেঁটে দেওয়া , বরাদ্দ করা

abet

assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing (e.g. "the defendant is thought to have abetted the murderer, who is already in jail")অসৎ কাজে মদত দেওয়া

adventitious

associated by chance and not an integral part (e.g. "your arrival was adventitious; although it will be easier to pull off with you helping, I believe that my plan would have succeeded without you") বহিরাগত , উটকো , আকস্মিক , আপতিক

engaging

attracting or delighting (e.g. "his engaging personality ensures that he will always have friends")

ascribe

attribute or credit to (e.g. "when the Olympic champion was asked by reporters how she accomplished what she did, she ascribed her success to her coach")

chronic

being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering (e.g. "He has chronic asthma: it has lasted his entire life.") দীর্ঘস্থায়ী , দুরারোগ্য

intrinsic

belonging to a thing by its very nature (e.g. "there were several intrinsic flaws with Jacob's plan; one of them was that one of his starting assumptions was that the moon is made of green cheese")

incredible

beyond belief or understanding; incapable of being believed (e.g. "The theory that the Earth is flat, not round, is incredible.")

ballyhoo

blatant or sensational promotion; advertize noisily or blatantly (e.g. "All the ballyhoo about the new movie is rubbish; it was a poorly done, sloppily-edited R-rated film.")কুরুচিপূর্ণ বা বিভ্রান্তিকর প্রচার, বিজ্ঞাপন ইত্যাদি , অর্থহীন বাগাড়ম্বর

crestfallen

brought low in spirit (e.g. "I was somewhat crestfallen when I discovered that I had not gotten anything for my birthday") স্ফটিকের মতো , স্ফটিক-স্বচ্ছ

delectable

capable of arousing desire; extremely pleasing to the sense of taste (e.g. "the food at the restaurant is delectable")

renounce

cast off or disown (e.g. "the prisoner renounced his citizenship of the country which had put him in jail because he was so offended that any country would dare to put him behind bars")

vex

cause annoyance in (e.g. "his apparent indifference vexed me, for after all, he had as much at stake as I")

pacify

cause to be more favorably inclined (e.g. "a baby's pacifier is meant to pacify a baby")

induce

cause to do, cause to arise (e.g. "toxic: not for children: drinking this product may cause gastrointestinal abnormalities; do not induce vomiting if swallowed; contact your local Poison Control center immediately")

appalling

causing consternation;very bad in a way that causes fear, shock, or disgust (e.g. "my friend's appalling lack of self-control at the bar led me to believe that he needs to take some classes on anger management") ভীত , শঙ্কিত , আতঙ্কগ্রস্ত করা , মর্মাহত করা

dire

causing fear or dread or terror (e.g. "I was in a dire situation when the aliens abducted me")

carcinogenic

causing or tending to cause cancer (e.g. "cigarettes are carcinogenic") ক্যান্সারজনক

autocratic

characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule (e.g. "The king and queen were autocratic: they held absolute power over their people.") স্বৈরাচারী (Adj.), স্বেচ্ছাচারী (Adj.), স্বৈরতন্ত্রী (Adj.)

proprietary

characteristic of an owner of property; constituting property (e.g. "a restaurant is a proprietary establishment")

colloquial

characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation (e.g. "It is my firm belief that colloquial speech has a highly negative effect on one's IQ: one should always speak very formally.") সাধারণ কথাবার্তায় ব্যবহৃত

verdant

characterized by abundance of verdure (e.g. "The verdant hills of a thousand years ago are now no more, thanks to the presence of modern humanity.")

premeditated

characterized by deliberate purpose and some degree of planning (e.g. "Premeditated murder is considered worse than unpremeditated murder, because if something is premeditated, then it wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment burst of anger; it had been carefully planned.")

jocular

characterized by jokes and good humor (e.g. "His jocular mood seemed unusual to me, for I had known him to be a rather introverted fellow.")

impeach

charge with an offense or misdemeanor (e.g. "after the Watergate debacle, President Nixon was impeached; he later resigned")

idyllic

charming in a rustic way; naturally peaceful (e.g. "the bucolic scene before me seemed idyllic")

patent

clearly apparent or obvious to the mind or senses (e.g. "Jimmy was a patent liar; one could tell simply by being near him that he was a liar")

impending

close in time (e.g. "an aura of impending doom pervaded the room")

harp

come back to (e.g. "'why do you keep harping on that?' asked Samuel")

fathom

come to understand (e.g. "I could not fathom what could cause a man to commit such evil")

labyrinth

complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost (e.g. "as our hero attempted to rescue the heroine from the castle dungeons, he got lost in the labyrinthine passages of the castle, and died of starvation")

muster

compulsory military service; a gathering of military personnel for duty; call to duty, military service, jury duty, etc.; gather or bring together (e.g. "The country managed to muster up a standing army of 50,000 men.")

heterogeneous

consisting of elements that are not of the same kind or nature (e.g. "if I were to randomly select 100 people, their personalities would probably be heterogeneous -- that is, their personalities would be widely disparate")

flagrant

conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible (e.g. "Bob stole from a nursery; he is now held in disrepute by the entire town for the flagrant act")

retrospect

contemplation of things past (e.g. "In retrospect, I realize that my decision was extremely foolish.")

paltry

contemptibly small in amount (e.g. "the charity fundraiser had attempted to raise $10,000; all they managed to raise was a paltry $500")

redeem

convert into cash; save from sins; pay off (loans or promissory notes); exchange or buy back for money (e.g. "The general idea in the Star Wars saga is that of redemption -- Anakin is redeemed.")

proselytize

convert to another faith or religion (e.g. "James, member of a religion he had made up and one of the major tenets of which stated that all new converts had to give him a million dollars, tried to proselytize Bob. Bob, however, was not interested")

coddle

cook in nearly boiling water; treat with excessive indulgence (e.g. "his mother really coddles that child; unfortunately, I do believe that he will grow up to be a spoiled brat") বেশি যত্ন করা , আদুরে গোপাল করে তোলা

abstruse

difficult to understand (e.g. "John Smith's theory was very abstruse; even he had a hard time understanding it.") দুর্বোধ্য , দুর্জ্ঞেয়

osmosis

diffusion of molecules through a semipermeable membrane from a place of higher concentration to a place of lower concentration until the concentration on both sides is equal (e.g. "He learned how to play the piano by osmosis: he worked with, ate with, played with, and lived with piano-players, so he eventually figured it out as well.")

exhume

dig up for reburial or for medical investigation (e.g. "the dead body of the rebel was exhumed from his grave so that he could be 'formally' tried and convicted and sentenced to death, even though he was already dead")

channel

direct the flow of (e.g. "Bob had difficulty channeling his natural competitiveness into useful areas like sports or academics; all he ever seemed to do with it was get into fights") গতিপথ , নদী পথ

bandy

discuss lightly (e.g. the two physicists bandied complicated formulas and other complicated things") কথাকাটাকাটি করা , না ভেবেচিন্তে কারো বা কোনকিছুর সম্পর্কে আলোচনা করা bandied around the idea of going out to dinner for their anniversary

disarray

disorder, confusion; to throw into disorder (e.g. "the nuclear explosion in the middle of the city threw the city -- what was left of it, that is -- into disarray")

apportion

distribute according to a plan or set apart for a special purpose (e.g. "the meager supply of soup was apportioned out to the people at the table") বণ্টন করা , প্রাপ্য অনুযায়ী ভাগ করে দেওয়া

turmoil

disturbance usually in protest; a violent disturbance; violent agitation (e.g. "The mixed expression on his face was a fair sampling of his inner turmoil within.")

schism

division of a group into opposing factions (e.g. "The period in Catholic church history in which there were two popes, each claiming to be the true pope, was called the Great Schism.")

condescend

do something that one considers to be below one's dignity (e.g. "When I asked the prince to loan me 50 dollars, he said condescendingly, 'I never deal in small change.'") নিজের অভ্যস্ত উচ্চ অবস্থান থেকে স্বেচ্ছায় নেমে আসা

analogy

drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect (e.g. "I believe that his analogy, in which he compared me to a gorilla, was somewhat flawed.") সমতা , অনুরূপতা , সাদৃশ্য , উপমিতি

tedium

dullness owing to length or slowness; the feeling of being bored by something tedious (e.g. "I abhor visits to museums as I find the tedium there to be stifling.")

parallel

duplicate or match (e.g. "There are disturbing parallels between modern society and ancient Rome, according to some.")

mawkish

effusively or insincerely emotional (e.g. "She has a tendency to be mawkish; after her parakeet died, she mourned for over two years.")

elliptical

elliptic; oval; of an ellipse; containing an ellipsis; ambiguous either purposely or because key words have been left out (e.g. "Daniel's confession to his mother about why he had blown up their toilet was elliptical: it was so ambiguous that at the end she knew no more than she had to start with")

culminate

end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage (e.g. "The Shakespearean play culminated in everybody dying.")

transitory

enduring a very short time (e.g. "although the effects of the pain medication are only transitory, they still provide some respite from pain")

litigate

engage in legal proceedings (e.g. "I avoided the confrontation so as to avoid the possibility of resultant litigation") (Note: example sentence from wikianswers")

augment

enlarge or increase (e.g. "A good knowledge of chemistry augments one's knowledge of biology.") বর্ধিত করা বা হওয়া

antedate

establish something as being earlier relative to something else (e.g. "although Thomas Edison is credited with the invention of the light bulb, he did not invent it, but only invented a practical version of it; the very first light bulb ever invented antedates Edison's version by a considerable time") আরো আগে ঘটা , প্রকৃত তারিখের পূর্ববর্তী কোনো তারিখ

conjure

evoke or call forth, with or as if by magic (e.g. "In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest,' the character Prospero has the ability to conjure up spirits.") সনির্বন্ধ অনুরোধ করা , মিনতি করা

fetish

excessive or irrational devotion to some activity (e.g. "he made fastidiousness his fetish, and now he can't even go into a dirty room without shuddering")

rife

excessively abundant; encountered generally especially at the present time (e.g. "Excesses of all kinds were accepted, bribery and blackmail were rife, and the entire society was engulfed in moral profligacy.")

frenetic

excessively agitated (e.g. "in 'Around the World in Eighty Days,' when one setback occurs after another, Passepartout becomes frenetic, but Phileas Fogg stays as calm as a rock")

sanctimonious

excessively or hypocritically pious (e.g. "the sanctimonious behavior of the character 'Mr. Bumble' from Charles Dickens' classic work 'Oliver Twist' is positively revolting")

integral

existing as an essential constituent or characteristic (e.g. "gravity is an integral force of nature: without it, all humans would probably be very unhappy")

debunk

expose while ridiculing (e.g. "the scientist easily debunked the claim that the moon was made of green cheese")

imply

express or state indirectly (e.g. "although he didn't say so directly, I got the distinct impression that he was implying that I should burn down kindly old Mr. Jones's barn")

lyrical

expressing deep personal emotion (e.g. "His lyrical account of his vacation caused me to desire to have a similar vacation to his.")

pejorative

expressing disapproval (e.g. "the phrase 'goody-two-shoes' is almost always used in the pejorative sense: that is, it is rarely, if ever, used to express approval")

concise

expressing much in few words (e.g. "Concision was not one of Joan's virtues: she couldn't seem to say the simplest thing without at least two hours of time and 10,000 words.") সংক্ষিপ্ত , সংক্ষিপ্ত অথচ দ্যোতক অর্থবহ

derogatory

expressive of low opinion (e.g. "I was derogatory of his theory when he said that he had been able to prove that the moon was made of green cheese; I apologized later, but I told him I still thought he was crazy")

anguish

extreme mental distress (e.g. "Her anguish at realizing her microwave oven was really a secret death-ray weapon was very great.") নিদারুণ যন্ত্রণা বা উদ্বেগ , মনোবেদনা , মনস্তাপ

malignant

extremely malevolent or malicious (e.g. "Herold's tumor was not malignant -- that is, it was not cancerous. It was benign")

abortive

failing to accomplish an intended result (e.g. "The CIA's plan to assassinate Fidel Castro was abortive; he survived.") নিষ্ফল , ব্যর্থ , অপরিণত

jingoism

fanatical patriotism; an appeal intended to arouse patriotic emotions (e.g. "It is thought that the jingoists may have been responsible in part for the U.S.'s involvement in World War I.")

exult

feel extreme happiness or elation (e.g. "Bob was exultant when, contrary to all expectations, he won an Olympic medal")

doleful

filled with or evoking sadness (e.g. "after Jimmy's mother refused to give him seconds for dessert, he said in a doleful voice, 'well, then, I guess I'll die of starvation'")

ascertain

find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort (e.g. "I had great difficulty in ascertaining exactly what species the specimen before me belonged to") নিশ্চিত করে জানা , নিশ্চিত হওয়া

staunch

firm and dependable especially in loyalty (e.g. "the only staunch supporters of the candidate are the people to whom the candidate has promised money")

steadfast

firm and dependable especially in loyalty (e.g. "the only steadfast supporters of the candidate are the people to whom the candidate has promised money")

auxiliary

functioning in a subsidiary or supporting capacity (e.g. "the normal motor and the auxiliary motor on the boat both ceased to function about the same time; unfortunately, the boat was about 50 miles from shore at the time and there were no oars")

voluptuous

furnishing gratification of the senses (e.g. "The voluptuous meal, although admittedly grand, certainly added at least 10 pounds to my weight!")

magnanimous

generous and understanding and tolerant (e.g. "although John Smith is supposedly a great philanthropist, his friends know that his magnanimous behavior is merely a facade to win public approval")

procure

get by special effort (e.g. "Although the prisoner found it difficult to procure an automatic escape-from-jail machine, he was able to bribe one of the guards to get one for him.")

intervene

get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force; occur between other event or between certain points of time; be placed or located between other things or extend between spaces and events (e.g. "the United Nations intervened between the two warring parties")

underscore

give extra weight to (a communication) (e.g. "The speaker underscored his point, as he considered it especially relevant.")

empower

give or delegate power or authority to (e.g. "the king empowered the nobleman to do whatever the nobleman chose to do to the rebels, in the name of the king")

allot

give out (e.g. "I was allotted two dollars -- a mere two dollars -- with which I had to buy a Christmas present for my brother") বণ্টন করা , বিলি করা ভাগ করে দেওয়া , বেঁটে দেওয়া , নির্দিষ্ট করে দেওয়া

consign

give, transfer, or deliver, as if by signing over; hand over; commit (e.g. "after the dictator was captured by the rebels, he consigned rulership of the country to them in exchange for his life") অর্পণ করা, সমর্পণ করা, জমা রাখা, হস্তান্তর করা, কাউকে কিছু পাঠানো, চালান দেওয়া, মজুত রাখা

fastidious

giving and careful attention to detail (e.g. "Albert is very fastidious; when he starts a project, it will seem to take him forever before he finishes it, but it will be done correctly when he does finish")

transcend

go beyond (e.g. "most believers of most religions believe in some higher reality which transcends everyday experience")

serendipity

good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries (e.g. "it was very serendipitous that I won the lottery with a ticket I found lying in the gutter")

brouhaha

great excitement or concern about something (e.g. "after the man finished his startling remark, brouhaha ensued") উত্তেজনা, হৈচৈ,

clout

great influence (especially political or social); hard blow with fist (e.g. "the president of the United States holds great political clout over Congress")

preeminent

greatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement (e.g. "Stephen Hawking could be considered preeminent in the field of physics")

exorbitant

greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation (e.g. "whenever a glutton eats, he always consumes exorbitant amounts of food")

degenerate

grow worse (e.g. "the mental patient's behavior slowly degenerated from semi-normal to raving lunacy")

misanthropic

hating mankind in general (e.g. "the misanthropic billionaire spent millions of dollars finding more and more ways to effectively seal himself off from what he saw as 'the bane of the universe': mankind. The rest of the world saw him as the bane of mankind")

cryptic

having a puzzling terseness (e.g. "Hans's cryptic statement had us all puzzled for weeks; we had no clue what it meant.")

affluent

having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value (e.g. "The affluent man had a widescreen TV, three cars (One of which was a Ferrari), and a house with its mortgage completely paid off.")

notorious

having an exceedingly bad reputation (e.g. "the notorious criminal found that being infamous has its downsides: he couldn't achieve anonymity no matter where he wenty")

infamous

having an exceedingly bad reputation (e.g. "the old-West gangster Jesse James had an infamous reputation: he was known everywhere as a criminal")

aboriginal

having existed from the beginning (e.g. "the aboriginal people of the island are rather primitive") আদিম , আদি

primal

having existed from the beginning; serving as an essential component (e.g. "It seems to be a primal instinct for members of a species to attempt to outcompete each other, a phenomenon dubbed as 'survival of the fittest'; it is through this process that natural selection occurs.")

ponderous

having great mass and weight and unwieldiness (e.g. "in 'A Christmas Carol', by Charles Dickens, the ghost of Ebenezer Scrooge's dead business partner Jacob Marley claims that Scrooge has a 'ponderous chain' created from taking advantage of people and not helping the destitute")

baroque

having many details or too many details; a dramatic style of art and music that was common in the 17th and early 18th centuries and that featured many decorative parts and details; (e.g. "I found that the architecture which had been touted as 'plain and simple' had an almost baroque quality to it -- that is, 'plain and simple' were two words which absolutely did not describe it") সপ্তদশ ও অষ্টাদশ শতকে প্রচলিত বিভিন্ন শিল্পকলায় প্রযুক্ত শৈলী

corporeal

having material or physical form or substance (e.g. "I will not believe that this theory is correct until I have corporeal proof of it") দেহ-সম্পর্কিত , দেহগত , দৈহিক , আধিভৌতিক , বস্তুগত

amorphous

having no definite form or distinct shape (e.g. "Amoebas are amorphous; they constantly change shape.")

tangible

having substance or material existence (e.g. "although hope and mercy do not have any direct tangible qualities (since they exist as abstract concepts), concrete actions can embody them")

cognitive

having to do with an organism's thinking and understanding (e.g. "The newly discovered alien has a very low cognitive capacity: it has an IQ of 2.") জ্ঞান , অবগতি , চেতনা

rivet

heavy pin having a head at one end and the other end being hammered flat after being passed through holes in the pieces that are fastened together; direct one's attention on something, hold (someone's attention) (e.g. "My attention was riveted by his account of his escape from Cannibal Island.")

foster

help develop; help grow, promote the growth of (e.g. "the intellectual atmosphere of the Enlightenment fostered scientific advancement")

mode

how something is done or how it happens (e.g. "After blasting all of the puny humans into dust, the space alien turned his blaster into invisibility mode, pointed it at himself, and disappeared.")

contraband

illegal traffic, smuggled goods; illegal, prohibited (e.g. "the smugglers tried to sneak contraband into the country; however, the border guards caught them") চোরা চালান , বেআইনী কারবার

encroach

impinge or infringe upon (e.g. "one of the main rules of law is that a person is not allowed to encroach upon another person or their property")

entail

impose, involve, or imply as a necessary accompaniment or result (e.g. "unfortunately, a feasible plan for capturing the enemy city must by necessity entail the killing of all of its soldiers; considering that I am a pacifist, I do not feel that I can agree to such a plan")

irrevocable

impossible to retract or revoke (e.g. "John Smith made the irrevocable decision to fire nuclear missiles at Kalamazoo; his decision was irrevocable because the missiles could not be deactivated once they were in flight")

insatiable

impossible to satiate or satisfy (e.g. "the young child have an insatiable curiosity; no matter how many questions were answered to him, he always had another to ask")

apprehensive

in fear or dread of possible evil or harm (e.g. "Leo was apprehensive about what his parents would say after he got an F on his history test.") শঙ্কিত , শঙ্কাকুল , উদ্বিগ্ন , সন্দিগ্ধ

underlying

in the nature of something though not readily apparent; being or involving basic facts or principles; located beneath or below (e.g. "The underlying principles which we stand upon include honesty, justice, and integrity.")

lethargy

inactivity (e.g. "a sense of lethargy began to steal over the man; only after he was extremely tired did he realize that his lethargy was an effect of the poisonous gases seeping through the floor")

amorous

inclined toward or displaying love (e.g. "His amorous manner caused her to believe that he thought she was in love with him; she showed him in no uncertain terms that she didn't: she slapped his face and walked out of the room.") প্রণয়ঘটিত , প্রণয়সংক্রান্ত , কামজনিত , প্রেমঘন , প্রেম-বিষয়ক

comprehensive

including all or everything (e.g. "The teacher enjoyed her student's comprehensive summary of Theodore Roosevelt's life that he gave as an oral report; so she gave him an A on that assignment.") বিস্তৃত , ব্যাপক , সর্বাঙ্গীণ , প্রভূত বোধশক্তিসম্পন্ন

annuity

income from capital investment paid in a series of regular payments (e.g. "in the Chilean privatized Social Security system, after one retires, his money, formerly in a pension fund, may be transferred into an annuity with an insurance company") বার্ষিক বৃত্তি , বার্ষিক প্রাপ্য সুদ

bauble

inexpensive piece of jewelry;a shiny ball that is hung on a Christmas tree as a decoration (e.g. "although I do enjoy examining antique baubles, I have better things to do with my time") আপাতসুন্দর ও ঝকমকে কিন্তু নেহাৎই সস্তা , নকল গয়না picked up some cheap baubles at the fair

decimate

kill in large numbers (e.g. "in ancient Rome, if an army had shown cowardice, it was common practice to have the army decimated: one out of every ten would be beaten to death. This is where the word 'decimated' comes from; deci- means one-tenth; one-tenth of the whole army would be beaten to death")

listless

lacking zest or vivacity (e.g. "He listlessly performed his duties, but he didn't have that cheerfulness about him which normally characterizes his behavior.")

commodious

large and roomy ('convenient' is archaic in this sense) (e.g. "the commodious hotel room was far larger than we had expected; it was a pleasant surprise") সুপ্রশস্ত , সুপরিসর , উপযোগী , সুবিধাজনক

capacious

large in capacity (e.g. "this capacious house feels lonely to me; I believe that a smaller one would suit me better") প্রশস্ত , সুপরিসর , ধারণক্ষম

voluminous

large in number or quantity (especially of discourse); large in volume or bulk (e.g. "His voluminous collection of encyclopedias remained largely unused, probably because it would take an extremely voracious reader to read even half of the material contained in them.")

assail

launch an attack or assault on (e.g. "the opposing army assailed the castle, but were unable to break through its extensive outer fortifications")

clemency

leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice (e.g. "After President Nixon resigned, the next president offered him clemency: that is, he pardoned him.") অনুকম্পা , দয়া , ক্ষমাশীলতা

belittle

lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of (e.g. "My older brother constantly belittled me by telling me about how the subjects he was doing in school were so much more advanced than what I was doing, etc., etc.") ছোটো করে দেখানো , তুচ্ছজ্ঞান করা;হেয় প্রতিপন্ন করা

fickle

liable to sudden unpredictable change (e.g. "fashion is fickle; what is fashionable today will be anachronistic tomorrow")

scant

limit in quality or quantity; supply sparingly and with restricted quantities (e.g. "Our scant supply of food in the refrigerator will not be sufficient to feed all of our guests.")

ratiocination

logical and methodical reasoning (e.g. "Computers are renowned for their ratiocination.")

depreciate

lose in value (e.g. "In the adverse economic climate, all of my stocks depreciated")

waive

lose or lose the right to by some error, offense, or crime; do without or cease to hold or adhere to (e.g. "I waived my right to a lawyer after I was arrested.")

downcast

low in spirits (e.g. "I was understandably downcast after I got an F on my exam")

degrade

lower the grade of something; reduce in worth or character, usually verbally (e.g. "Harry considered janitorial work to be degrading to him")

farcical

ludicrous (e.g. "when Bob dared Jim to eat 200 doughnuts at one sitting, he was being farcical; there was no way anyone could eat 200 doughnuts at once. Jim, however, was not aware of this, and tried it")

nullify

make ineffective by counterbalancing the effect of; show to be invalid; declare invalid (e.g. "The king nullified the age-old law which stated that anyone who didn't conform to the beliefs of the state had to be put to death.")

replicate

make or do or perform again; biology: reproduce or make an exact copy of (e.g. "When a simple microbe, for example a unicellular prokaryote, replicates asexually, the resulting two organisms have an identical genetic complement to the original.")

consummate

make perfect (e.g. "He was the consummate politician: he never answered a question straight, but always resorted to circumlocutions to avoid really answering it.")সুসম্পূর্ণ , নিখুঁত , সর্বাঙ্গসুন্দর , অনিন্দ্য , অনবদ্য

impoverish

make poor; take away (e.g. "the formerly affluent man was impoverished by the unfair tax policies of the king")

habituate

make psychologically or physically used (to something) (e.g. "Alfred tried to habituate himself to his new lifestyle, but he could not")

marshal

make ready for action or use (e.g. "when the Confederate States of America besieged Fort Sumter, Abraham Lincoln marshaled the United States Army for war")

predispose

make susceptible (e.g. "Honestly, one major reason I disagree with you is that I was predisposed to believe a view other than yours; that is, I was raised believing otherwise.")

exasperate

make worse (e.g. "I exasperated my mother by not doing any of the household chores")

stigmatize

mark with a stigma or stigmata (e.g. "people who commit crimes against humanity are stigmatized, or at least ought to be stigmatized")

avid

marked by active interest and enthusiasm (e.g. "he's an avid mountain-biker; it seems that all he ever does in his spare time is mountain-bike") আগ্রহী , উত্সুক , ব্যগ্র

coherent

marked by an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts (e.g. "Walter's incoherent speech failed to convince anyone in the audience that he was right.")

nonchalant

marked by blithe unconcern (e.g. "His nonchalant reaction to my news that the stock market had crashed led me to believe that he had not invested very heavily in stocks.")

decadent

marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay (e.g. "the meeting of the delinquent teens, mentioned two examples ago, was decadent")

perverse

marked by immorality; resistant to guidance or discipline; marked by a disposition to oppose and contradict (e.g. "Unfortunately, sadists take a perverse pleasure in inflicting pain on others.")

astute

marked by practical hardheaded intelligence (e.g. "His astuteness, combined with a lack of scruples, caused him to be able to make a fortune unrivaled in the country.") তীক্ষ্ণবুদ্ধি , চতুর , বিচক্ষণ , ধূর্ত , ধুরন্ধর , সূক্ষ্ম বিচারশক্তির পরিচায়ক

shrewd

marked by practical hardheaded intelligence; used of persons (e.g. "Through shrewd investments, he made a fortune out of his original $1000.")

discreet

marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint (e.g. "he was very discreet; he never gossiped")

brusque

marked by rude (e.g. "'Come with me,' said the man brusquely") রূঢ় , স্থূল

artful

marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft (e.g. "In Dickens's work 'Oliver Twist', the 'Artful Dodger' is a nickname for one of the characters who is very adept at avoiding capture by the police.") ছলনাময় (Adj.), চতুর (Adj.), কৌশলী (Adj.), দক্ষ (Adj.)

acrimonious

marked by strong resentment or cynicism (e.g. "Their response to his plan was acrimonious, and not without cause: his name was Adolf Hitler, and his plan involved mass murder.") উগ্র, ত্রিব্ব

peculiar

markedly different from the usual; beyond or deviating from the usual or expected (e.g. "The peculiar design of this artifact shows that it apparently served a purpose yet unknown to archaeologists.")

novel

new; original (e.g. "Tim had a novel idea for achieving world peace: 'why don't all the governments in the world give their powers to me?' he asked. 'If I had all the power, then I could be a despot, and then nobody would be happy, but all the countries in the world would have a common trouble, which would help unite them'")

temperate

not extreme (e.g. "the temperate latitudes are neither extremely north or south (where it is very cold) nor very near the equator (where it is very hot): they are in-between")

paranormal

not in accordance with scientific laws; seemingly outside normal sensory channels (e.g. "The apparently paranormal events of yesterday most assuredly have a natural, reasonable explanation.")

posthumous

occurring or coming into existence after a person's death (e.g. "'The Diary of Anne Frank' was published posthumously.")

climatic

of or relating to a climate (e.g. "most scientists believe that over the last few centuries, there have been some major climatic changes, one of which is known as 'global warming'") জলবায়ু - সংবন্ধীয় (Adj.)

feline

of or relating to cats (e.g. "Some people, as opposed to those in the last example, consider felines to be man's best friend.")

toxic

of or relating to or caused by a toxin or poison (e.g. "Although the paint is supposedly not toxic, I certainly wouldn't like to drink some of it to find out for certain.")

equestrian

of or relating to or featuring horseback riding (e.g. "the sign read, 'this is an equestrian facility; according to state and federal law, any injuries which occur in this facility as a result of personal stupidity will be your own fault, so you will be unable to sue us'")

temporal

of or relating to or limited by time (e.g. "Most world religions espouse a belief in a reality other than that which is temporal.")

ursine

of or relating to or similar to bears (e.g. "Many national parks containing bears have special trash-receptacle boxes which are ursine-resistant.")

culinary

of or relating to or used in cooking (e.g. "The chef called his best dish his 'culinary delight', which was rather redundant, because all food is culinary.")

municipal

of or relating to the government of a municipality; relating or belonging to or characteristic of a municipality (e.g. "It is a municipal regulation in this town that it is illegal to drive over 55 miles per hour.")

marginal

of something or someone close to a lower limit or lower class; of a bare living gained by great labor, at or constituting a border or edge; of questionable or minimal quality; producing at a rate that barely covers production costs; just barely adequate or within a lower limit (e.g. "Although it may have been possible for a person to make a marginal living in the factories during the Industrial Revolution, surely even the most staunch supporter of the techniques employed there would be forced to admit that the living standards which were affordable given the compensation for a person's labor were hardly conducive to healthfulness or happiness.")

cosmopolitan

of worldwide scope or applicability (e.g. "His views were cosmopolitan, not limited to any one city or state.") বিশ্বজনীন , সর্বজনীন , বহুজাতিক , বিশ্বনাগরিক

repugnant

offensive to the mind (e.g. "The very thought of abstinence from alcohol was repugnant to the alcoholic.")

martyr

one who suffers for the sake of principle (e.g. "Todd considered himself a martyr for the cause of nutrition: when he had mentioned to a diehard chocolate lover that he believed that chocolate, in excessive amounts, was bad for a person, the chocolate lover had whacked him over the head with a large book")

equivocal

open to two or more interpretations (e.g. "when reporters in Timbuktu asked John Smith, the monarch, to elaborate on why he had recently imposed a law that everyone had to eat peanut butter and pickle sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, John Smith's answer was equivocal, probably because he didn't want people to know the truth")

insurrection

organized opposition to authority (e.g. "President Abraham Lincoln declared that the Confederate States of America had not truly been their own country, but that they had merely been a part of the United States of America that had been in a state of insurrection against the rest of the country")

indigenous

originating where it is found (e.g. "the indigenous tribes of Polynesia -- that is, the first ones there -- really didn't originate there; one theory suggests that some emigrated there from South America")

bureaucracy

over-regulated administrative system marked by red tape (e.g. "Modern governmental bureaucracy is so complicated compared to how it was in George Washington's day that if he saw our modern government, he'd probably be surprised.") আমলাতন্ত্র

reclaim

overcome the wildness of; make useful again; bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one; claim back; of materials from waste products (e.g. "Although irresponsible environmental practices in the distant past may have contributed to the enlargement of deserts, such as the Sahara, it is possible that some of the now arid land can be reclaimed for cultivation.")

saccharine

overly sweet (e.g. "the dessert was, unfortunately, more than merely sweet; it was cloying; its saccharine taste nearly made me gag")

felicity

pleasing and appropriate manner or style (especially manner or style of expression), state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy (e.g. "Bob told Jim, with great felicity, that he had just won the lottery")

stark

providing no shelter or sustenance; complete or extreme; severely simple; completely (e.g. "Stark, unmitigated terror gripped my heart as the Klingon lunged at my throat.")

instigate

provoke or stir up (e.g. "I didn't know that by calling Bob a stupid idiot that I would be instigating a fight")

accentuate

put stress on (e.g. "in my explanation about how I knew that the moon was not made of green cheese, I accentuated the fact that astronauts had been there, and no cheese was to be found") আরো জোরালো করা

compose

put together out of existing material (e.g. "Jerry's plan to take over the world is composed of a whole bunch of nonsense.") রচনা করা , ছাপার হরফ সাজানো , সমাহিত করা

compile

put together out of existing material; use a computer program to translate source code written in a particular programming language into computer-readable machine code that can be executed; get or gather together (e.g. "although compiling such a comprehensive list has taken me several weeks, I believe that the effort has been worth it")

chronicle

record in chronological order; also such a record (e.g. "My attempt to write a chronicle of the history of the world was beset by problems, one of which was that I know nothing whatsoever about history.") ঘটনাপঞ্জি , পত্রিকা

abridge

reduce in scope while retaining essential elements (e.g. "The editor of the children's versions of the great classics abridged them ruthlessly; after she got through with them, not even the basic story-line was intact.") সংক্ষিপ্ত করা

ruminate

reflect deeply on a subject (e.g. "I ruminated deeply on quantum theory; after I finished, I still couldn't make heads or tails out of it")

forgo

refrain from consuming (e.g. "I decided to forgo having a sixth piece of cake")

canine

related to dogs; doglike;a pointed tooth (e.g. "Some people consider canines to be man's best friend.") কুক্করসুলভ;ছেদক দন্ত;কুকুরে দাঁত

cerebral

related to the mind rather than to feelings : intellectual and not emotional ("a very cerebral jurist who has given much thought to what makes our nation's constitution work") মস্তিষ্কসংক্রান্ত;intellectual

dialectical

relating to discussions (e.g. "although he considered himself a great conversationalist, he was not dialectical at all: he always did all of the talking, and technically to have a conversation, the other person has to say something")

equine

relating to horses (e.g. "The barn had a big sign on the front: 'Attention: this is an equine facility'.")

chronological

relating to or arranged according to temporal order (e.g. "My chronological account of the history of the world has some problems; one of them would be that I said that World War II began in 1776.") কালানুক্রমিক

imperial

relating to or associated with an empire (e.g. "Napoleon was imperial in the most literal sense of the word -- he literally had control over an empire")

paternal

relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent (e.g. "Jim held paternal feelings for Bob. This makes sense; Bob was his son")

piscine

relating to or suggesting fish (e.g. "Many piscine products, such as trout and salmon, are sold in stores.")

agrarian

relating to rural matters (e.g. "The Federal Government subsidizes agrarian industries.") কৃষিসম্পর্কীয়

antipodal

relating to the antipodes or situated at opposite sides of the earth (e.g. "China is said to be at an antipodal location on Earth relative to the United States; this is why some benighted people say that if you dig a deep enough hole, you will pop out in China") একেবারে বিপরীত মেরুতে অবস্থানকারী লোকেরা

oust

remove and replace; remove from a position or office (e.g. "After the former ruler was ousted, the army generals set up a junta, with which they effectively ruled the country for the next 12 years.")

tautological

repetition of same sense in different words (e.g. "first the defendant pleaded 'not guilty'. Then the defendant pleaded innocent. His pleadings were tautological")

quintessential

representing the perfect example of a class or quality (e.g. "Captain Kirk is the quintessential starship captain.")

resurrection

revival from inactivity and disuse (e.g. "One way to resurrect overdone pasta is to soak it in cold water; the pasta may achieve a resurrection.")

lampoon

ridicule with satire (e.g. "I lampooned my math teacher -- out of his hearing, of course -- at every opportunity; when my math teacher found out, he was very unhappy")

fester

ripen and generate pus (usually metaphorically), a sore that has become inflamed and formed pus (e.g. "his anger and hatred festered within him, until finally they burst out in a rage of malice and ill-will")

rhapsodize

say (something) with great enthusiasm (e.g. "Jerry rhapsodized at great length regarding the new music album.")

contempt

scorn, extreme dislike or disdain (e.g. "I feel contempt for all those people in the country who are not interested in what they can do for their country, but only about what their country can do for them") অবজ্ঞা , ঘৃণা , হেনস্থা , অবমাননা

collusion

secret agreement (e.g. "The collusion between Jim and Bob basically states that if one of them wins the lottery, he'll share half of the winnings with the other.") অশুভ আঁতাত , তলায় তলায় বোঝাপড়া

segregate

separate or isolate (one thing) from another and place in a group apart from others (e.g. "During the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. fought against racial segregation with his policy of nonviolent resistance.")

discourse

serious speech, writing, or conversation; formal discussion (either written or spoken); conversation; V. (e.g. "while the revered physicist was discoursing about quantum theory and relativity, I had a glazed look over my face, and I wasn't understanding a word of what he said")

sequester

set apart from others (e.g. "the cattle ranchers sequestered the genetically defective cattle from the rest so that they would not reproduce with the rest to produce another generation of genetically defective cattle")

constitute

set up or lay the groundwork for (e.g. "Whacking someone over the head with a baseball bat constitutes a federal assault.") অধিষ্�� িত করা , নিয়োগ করা , সৃষ্টি করা , স্থাপন করা , বৈধ ক্ষমতা দেওয়া

corrugated

shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges (e.g. "the corrugated iron siding to the house looks tacky") ঢেউখেলান (Adj.), ঢেউ - তোলা (Adj.)

heinous

shockingly brutal or cruel (e.g. "members of the Nazi party who were accused of committing heinous crimes were tried at the Nuremberg trials")

prudent

showing wise self-restraint in speech and behavior especially in preserving prudent silence (e.g. "when the malevolent dictator started screaming in Samuel's face, Samuel considered telling him that he was making no sense; however, knowing that the dictator could easily order his head to be chopped off, he prudently remained silent")

cringe

shrink back as if in fear; cower (e.g. "I cringed before the purple alien with the huge ray gun to show that I was not a threat to it")

dexterous

skillful in physical movements (e.g. "if a person is ambidextrous, then he is skillful at writing in both hands")

confidant

someone to whom private matters are confided (e.g. "although the king had many sycophants, he had no true confidants with whom he could reveal his inner struggles and challenges") অন্তরঙ্গ বন্ধু , প্রাণের বন্ধু , সখা

mystic

someone who believes in the existence of realities beyond human comprehension; having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; relating to or characteristic of mysticism; relating to or resembling mysticism (e.g. "Although there are forces which in times long past might have seemed mystic to the peoples and cultures of the day -- for example, magnetism -- nowadays, we can see that such forces are only an expression of some fundamental principles of nature.")

cynic

someone who is critical of the motives of others (e.g. "my sister from the previous example was a cynic: she didn't believe my motives were pure when I accidentally killed the cat; she insisted the killing was intentional")

entrepreneur

someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it (e.g. "the entrepreneur thought that his new advertising technique would help him to sell millions of dollars' worth of his products; he was wrong, and his business was a failure")

perpetrator

someone who perpetrates wrongdoing (e.g. "After the murder was committed, the perpetrator was speedily apprehended and indicted; he awaits his trial.")

phantasm

something existing in perception only; a ghostly appearing figure (e.g. "The phantasm could not be killed by bullets, grenades, or bombs, because a phantasm has no physical substance to destroy.")

enigma

something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained (e.g. "Albert's behavior this past week was an enigma; of course, Albert's behavior every week is enigmatic, so this week was pretty normal")

provocation

something that incites or provokes; unfriendly behavior that causes anger or resentment (e.g. "I'm warning you, if you say that to him, he'll explode; he blows up at the slightest provocation, and so I wouldn't recommend that you say that to him.")

prelude

something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows (e.g. "I have a feeling that this first battle is only the prelude to what will become a bloody, gruesome war.")

bereaved

sorrowful through loss of close one; a person who has suffered a loss or deprivation (e.g. "She is bereaved as a result of the murder of her husband.") স্বজন হারানোর বেদনা, বঞ্চিত করা the grief of the bereaved parents seemed to be without limit

jargon

specialized technical terminology characteristic of a particular subject (e.g. "Believe me, if you desire to learn computer programming, you will have to learn an entire jargon completely foreign to everyone of every other field")

defile

spot, stain, or pollute; make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; place under suspicion or cast doubt upon (e.g. "I will not defile my integrity by committing such an unseemly act")

revile

spread negative information about (e.g. "I reviled him after he called me an idiot.")

profess

state insincerely (e.g. "under duress from the Catholic Church, Galileo professed that he was incorrect regarding his heliocentric theory and that the universe was geocentric; even so, he knew he was right and that the Church was wrong")

quandary

state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options; a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one (e.g. "I am in a quandary -- ought I to buy an ice-cream sundae, or a root beer float?")

obtrusive

sticking out; undesirably noticeable (e.g. "I considered Eugene to be obtrusive when he kept asking me whether he could have a piece of my used gum.")

quaint

strange in an interesting or pleasing way; very strange or unusual; attractively old-fashioned (but not necessarily authentic) (e.g. "Nowadays, the ideas of the medieval alchemists are seen as quaint -- they certainly aren't correct, but they are somewhat interesting.")

utilitarian

stressing practical use over other values (e.g. "the utilitarian house has no frills, no decorations, and no beauty -- its purpose is simply to be a place to live, and that is the only purpose it could possibly serve")

animosity

strong dislike; bitter hostility (e.g. "Many tribes in Africa today exhibit great animosity towards each other; tribal wars occur relatively frequently.") বিদ্বেষ , শত্রুতা , বৈরিতা , শত্রুমনোভাব

amid

surrounded by; in the middle of (e.g. "I glimpsed my friend amid the crowd")ভিড়ের মাঝখানে

ideology

system of ideas characteristic of a group or culture (e.g. "Hitler's ideology was very provocative; a part of it was that the so-called 'Aryan' race was dominant over all others and should rule the world")

pontificate

talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner (e.g. "The character Mr. Bumble from 'Oliver Twist', by Charles Dickens, is a highly unsympathetic character: when he speaks, he always pontificates.")

inculcate

teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions (e.g. "he attempted to inculcate virtue into his youngest son; however, his son was obdurate, and refused to be taught")

bivouac

temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers; temporary encampment (e.g. "after the soldiers constructed their bivouac, they tensely waited as the long night passed, each moment thinking that the enemy was about to attack") তাঁবু না খাটিয়ে খোলা আকাশের নীচে অস্থায়ীভাবে বাস করা

armament

the act of equipping with weapons in preparation for war; weaponry used by military or naval force (e.g. "the country in question has a formidable armament; it would be foolish to provoke war against it") যুদ্ধের জন্য সজ্জিত সামরিক বাহিনী , বিশেষ উদ্দেশ্যে প্রেরিত সৈন্যদল , যুদ্ধ চালনার সহায়ক বিশেষ সরঞ্জাম

resignation

the act of giving up (a claim or office or possession etc.); acceptance of despair (e.g. "His resignation at always being second-best led him to stop trying, so as a result he never was anything better than second-best.")

volition

the act of making a choice (e.g. "although Dick would have never turned down a piece of chocolate cake of his own volition, his mother made the choice for him")

tumult

the act of making a noisy disturbance; violent agitation; a state of commotion and noise and confusion (e.g. "The little boy called for his mother, but he could barely hear even his own voice above the tumult.")

override

the act of nullifying; rule against; a manually operated device to correct the operation of an automatic device; prevail over (e.g. "The committee overrode my decision, and they didn't accept my plan.")

ordinance

the act of ordaining; a statute enacted by a city government; an authoritative rule (e.g. "The city ordinance declares that double-parking is illegal.")

remuneration

the act of paying for goods or services or to recompense for losses (e.g. "Generally, white-collar workers receive greater remuneration than blue-collar workers.")

dissent

the act of protesting (e.g. "in the United States, people have the right to verbally dissent from the official opinion of the government; this right is part of the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States")

curb

the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess (e.g. "he tried to curb his sweet tooth by abstaining from all foods with excess sugar")

seclusion

the act of secluding yourself from others; the quality of being secluded from the presence or view of others (e.g. "The man withdrew into total seclusion for five hours so that he could try to learn to meditate; however, as his cell-phone kept ringing every five minutes, he did not succeed.")

larceny

the act of taking something from someone unlawfully (e.g. "when James stole Jenny's iPod, he was committing larceny")

aversion

the act of turning oneself (or one's gaze) away, a feeling of intense dislike (e.g. "in the book 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' by Robert Louis Stevenson, those who look at Mr. Hyde feel an instinctive aversion towards him") ঘোর অপছন্দ , বিরাগ , বিমুখতা , বিতৃষ্ণা , বিরাগভাজন ব্যক্তি

increment

the amount by which something increases (e.g. "each time a level is beaten in a computer game, the computer automatically increments the difficulty level")

ambiance

the atmosphere of an environment (e.g. "The ambiance of the cafeteria was such that I never wanted to go back again: the entire time a woman was standing on top of her table and screaming for a waiter, everybody in the building was shouting to everyone else at the top of their lungs, and there was only one waiter in the entire restaurant.") বেষ্টনী , পরিবেষ্টনী , পরিব্যাপ্তি , পরিবৃতি

fabrication

the deliberate act of deviating from the truth (e.g. "when my mother asked me how I became lodged in her giant toaster oven, I fabricated the truth to prevent her from figuring it out. However, my fabrication did not fool her")

pluralism

the doctrine that reality consists of several basic substances or elements (e.g. "Although such a concept of religious pluralism has been foreign to humankind for practically all of human history -- excepting, of course, the last few decades -- some today proclaim that it is the key to religious tolerance for all.")

objective

the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable); belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events; serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain prepositions and used for certain other purposes, emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings or interpretation; undistorted by emotion or personal bias (e.g. "I cannot look at the deeds of that great man objectively, because that great man is me!")

syntax

the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences; studies of the rules for forming admissible sentences; a systematic orderly arrangement (e.g. "Although the syntax of your essay is well-done, the actual content of it leaves much to be desired.")

psyche

the immaterial part of a person; that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings (e.g. "Although this definition says that the psyche is the immaterial part of the person, this is in question -- whether or not the psyche -- or mind, or even soul, if you will -- has any relation transcending matter, or whether it is merely material, is a question faced by some.")

progeny

the immediate descendants of a person (e.g. "The Founding Fathers of America did not create American government merely for themselves, but also for their progeny , as is evidenced by a quote from the Preamble of the Constitution: 'We the people of the United States...to ensure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.")

theology

the learned profession acquired by specialized courses in religion (usually taught at a college or seminary) (e.g. "the theology classes taught me very much about human traditions, but, ironically, taught me very little of religion")

brink

the limit beyond which something happens or changes (e.g. "the country's monetary policies took it to the brink of destruction") দ্বারপ্রান্ত , কিনারা was at the brink of death when the rescuers arrived

allegiance

the loyalty that citizens owe to their country (or subjects to their sovereign) (e.g. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America...") শাসকের প্রতি প্রজার অথবা দেশের প্রতি নাগরিকের কর্তব্য , যথাযোগ্য সম্মানবোধ

patriarch

the male head of family or tribe (e.g. "before Rome was an empire, and even before it was a republic, its society was literally patriarchal. The eldest male in an extended family held absolute power over the rest of the family, holding even the power of life and death over them")

crux

the most important point (e.g. "the crux of the matter really is simply that you want to be selfish and do whatever you want, and I want to be selfish and do whatever I want, and so we have reached an impasse as our desires have conflicted")

hierarchy

the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body (e.g. "most companies have a hierarchy of power, culminating with the CEO at the top")

regime

the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit (e.g. "Although the current regime in Kalamazoo is rather lenient compared to previous regimes, it still shows a disturbing disregard for human rights.")

aftermath

the outcome of an event especially as relative to an individual (e.g. "the aftermath of the tsunami involved massive homelessness and general poverty for all in the immediate vicinity") পরিণাম

periphery

the outside boundary or surface of something (e.g. "the outer periphery of the earth's atmosphere is called the exosphere")

vocation

the particular occupation for which you are trained (e.g. "although one's vocation is important, one ought to have enough spare time in a day to engage in some avocational pursuits")

heyday

the period of greatest prosperity or productivity (e.g. "the heyday of the former movie star is long gone; now only people over sixty even recognize her name")

ethics

the principles of right and wrong that guide an individual in making decisions (e.g. "I believe that societal ethics are being degraded; in fact, some would say that modern society has no ethics, since to have ethics one must have a standard of right and wrong, and some people nowadays don't even believe in right or wrong!")

influx

the process of flowing in (e.g. "the current influx of immigrants from Kalamazoo is due to the harsh political climate there")

deficit

the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required (e.g. "the federal deficit is the amount of money that the government spends in a year minus the amount of money that the government collects in taxes in a year")

proximity

the property of being close together (e.g. "the meal Harry consumed has not agreed with him; he will have to stay in close proximity to the restroom for the next few hours")

antiquity

the quality of being ancient; ancient times (e.g. "archaeologists have found artifacts from antiquity; that is, from ancient times") প্রাচীনত্ব , প্রাচীনতা , প্রাচীন যুগ , পুরাকাল , প্রাচীনকালের লোকেরা

glut

the quality of being so overabundant that prices fall (e.g. "10-year-old Johnny decided to open a lemonade stand during the summer; unfortunately for him, at least 2,000 other children had the same idea, so there was a lemonade glut, and no one was able to make very much money")

altruism

the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others (e.g. "Although the man was very poor, he was altruistic at heart; he gave every spare penny he had to charities.") পরহিতৈষণা , পরার্থবাদ , পরার্থপরতা

beneficiary

the recipient of funds or other benefits (e.g. "The beneficiary of the payment was the new university mentioned in the last example.") লাভবান

renaissance

the revival of learning and culture (e.g. "the Renaissance (with a capital 'R') was a major revival of learning and culture (approximately) during the 14th through 16th centuries. This word can also be used with a lowercase 'r' to discuss any other revival of learning and culture.")

deluge

the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land (e.g. "if a dam breaks, a town near it may be swept away by the deluge")

uniform

the same throughout in structure or composition (e.g. "the density of the earth is not uniform -- it varies in different places")

threshold

the sill of a door; a region marking a boundary (e.g. "The 'event horizon' is a mathematical surface, existing in the abstract as the threshold between the unknown within a black hole, and the known without.")

taint

the state of being contaminated; place under suspicion or cast doubt upon; contaminate with a disease or microorganism (e.g. "Although the detractors' claims were never proven, their comments still tainted his reputation.")

dubiety

the state of being unsure of something (e.g. "I expressed dubiety when my friend told me that the moon was made of green cheese")

infrastructure

the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; the basic structure or features of a system or organization (e.g. "after the nuclear weapon annihilated the capital, the infrastructure of the rest of the country completely broke down")

interim

the time between one event, process, or period and another (e.g. "the war between the two member states was interrupted by a temporary treaty; alas, the treaty was soon broken, and the countries attacked each other with still greater ferocity than before; however, in the interim, both countries had amassed a still greater arsenal of weaponry than they had had before, so ironically, as a result of the temporary treaty, more people died than otherwise would have")

coalition

the union of diverse things into one body or form or group; also such a group (e.g. "The teacher's coalition advocated higher pay for teachers all over the country.") সংযুক্তি , জোট , মোর্চা

pensive

thoughtful; melancholy (e.g. "Johanna was usually very gregarious, so I was surprised at her pensive behavior")

annex

to add to, attach; to incorporate; an attachment or addition (e.g. "the United States annexed Hawai'i in 1898") গৌণ অংশ হিসেবে যুক্ত করা , নেওয়া , পাওয়া , অধিকার করা

accost

to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way (e.g. "John Smith was accosted by three men with baseball bats and clubs, who the police subsequently arrested for aggressive action.") সম্বোধন

allege

to assert without proof or confirmation (e.g. "Allegedly, John Smith murdered Jane Doe and Richard Roe, but since the only person who claims to have seen the deed was John Smith's worst enemy, I really doubt it.") দৃঢ়তার সঙ্গে কোনো কিছু বলা , ঘোষণা করা

spawn

to bring forth; to produce a large number (e.g. "Harry's great idea spawned an entire movement designed to bring that great idea to fruition")

evoke

to call forth or call to mind (e.g. "the word 'home' evokes different images for different people")

careen

to go forward quickly without control;lurch(e.g. "the drunk driver careened down the road in his car") ঝোঁকা বা ঝোঁকানো ।

canvass

to go through an area in order to procure votes, sales,; to look at or consider (something) carefully (e.g. "the pollsters canvassed the entire state, trying to predict whether the upcoming referendum would pass") ভোট, পণ্য সরবরাহের ফরমাশ, চাঁদা ইত্যদি সংগ্রহের প্রত্যাশায় কিংবা কোনো প্রশ্নে সাধারণের মতামত জানবার জন্য দ্বারে দ্বারে ঘোরা;

ad-lib

to improvise (e.g. "although I forgot some of my lines and had to ad-lib them, on the whole, I think that I did a pretty good job in the play")

edify

to instruct morally and spiritually ("the pastor's sermon didn't seem to be meant to edify its listeners, but merely to rail against television and modern telephones")

construe

to interpret (e.g. "I construed his statement to mean that he hated me; it turned out later that I had misconstrued his statement; that is, that I had construed incorrectly.") ভাষান্তরিত করা , শব্দ ধরে ধরে অনুবাদ করা , বিশেষভাবে বোঝা , বিশ্লেষণ করা

balk

to refuse stubbornly or abruptly; to stop short and refuse to go on (e.g. "I balked at the thought of being the test experiment for the scientist") বাধা , ভেস্তে দেওয়া the extravagant centerpiece proved to be a balk to the flow of conversation

reiterate

to say, state, or perform again (e.g. "during our final preparation for the test, our teacher reiterated its importance: our score determined whether we would be able to enter a selective college or not")

commemorate

to serve as a memorial to; to remember in a solemn manner (e.g. "we commemorate December 7 as a memorial to all those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor just before the start of America's involvement in World War Two") স্মারক হওয়া , স্মৃতিচিহ্ন হওয়া

emancipate

to set free (e.g. "Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation emancipated all slaves in Confederate territories")

scintillate

to sparkle; to twinkle; to sparkle intellectually (e.g. "Albert Einstein scintillates in the sky of intellectualism, for he was one of the greatest physicists of all time")

desist

to stop; discontinue (e.g. "I asked the alien to desist from zapping people with his big laser gun")

oblivion

total forgetfulness (e.g. "the alien pointed his death ray gun at Harry and pulled the trigger, and Harry was blasted into oblivion")

propagate

transmit or cause to broaden or spread; multiply sexually or asexually; cause to propagate, as by grafting or layering; cause to become widely known; become distributed or widespread; transmit (e.g. "The scientist accused the chairman of the 'Moon is Made of Green Cheese' Society of propagating falsehoods.")

circumnavigate

travel around, either by plane or ship (e.g. "Ferdinand Magellan is the first person proven to have circumnavigated the globe") জাহাজে করে প্রদক্ষিণ করা

dissuade

turn away from by persuasion (e.g. "I tried to dissuade Bob from trying to drink a whole bottle of Tabasco sauce")

atone

turn away from sin or do penitence (e.g. "to atone for your actions, you must make restitution to all those who you have hurt") প্রতিকার করা, প্রতিবিধান করা, মিটমাট করা, প্রায়শ্চিত্ত করা, মিলনসাধন করা, প্রতিকার বা প্রতিবিধান করা

blanch

turn pale, as if in fear (e.g. "the other man blanched white as a sheet. 'Surely he wouldn't dare to do something so horrible!' he said") ভয়ে বা শীতে বিবর্ণ বা সাদা হওয়া বা করা

delve

turn up, loosen, or remove earth, usually metaphorically (e.g. "what are you waiting for? Delve into your SAT vocabulary preparation so that you can get a very good SAT score!")

converse

turned about in order or relation (e.g. "although the statement 'all men are fools' is untrue, its converse is true: 'all fools are men'") কথাবার্তা বলা , বাক্যালাপ করা , বিপরীত

ambivalent

undecided (e.g. "Her ambivalent reply to his proposal for marriage led him to believe that she really didn't want to marry him.")

downplay

understate the importance or quality of (e.g. "his political opponents tried to downplay the importance of the new study which said that the political position they were holding was untenable because it caused economic disaster")

embryonic

undeveloped; rudimentary; N. embryo: organism in the early stage of development (e.g. "although the plan for the two countries to combine into one is still in the embryonic stages, we feel confidant that it will be satisfactory for all sides involved")

raucous

unpleasantly loud and harsh; disturbing the public peace (e.g. "The sound of the raucous heavy metal playing in the adjoining apartment caused the elderly couple to lose much sleep.")

skittish

unpredictably excitable (especially of horses) (e.g. "The baby's apparently skittish behavior could simply be because it is mildly hypoglycemic.")

rampant

unrestrained and violent (e.g. "If allowed to run rampant, the zombies will eventually conquer the world.")

stalwart

used especially of persons; dependable; having rugged physical strength (e.g. "His outwardly scrawny appearance conceals a stalwart heart.")

forensic

used of legal argumentation (e.g. "although the defendant claimed that he was innocent, the forensic evidence showed otherwise: his fingerprints were found at the scene of the crime")

devout

very religious (e.g. "his aunt is very devout; she prays before every meal and tries to be nice to everyone, even those who aren't nice to her")

desecrate

violate the sacred character of a place or language (e.g. "The teenager desecrated the moment by burping in the middle of the prayer.")

quay

wharf usually built parallel to the shoreline (e.g. "The boat was moored along the quay; unfortunately, it was destroyed during the tsunami.")

CORRIGIBLE

CORRIGIBLE (KOR uh juh bul) adj capable of being set right, correctable, reparable • Stuttering is often a highly corrigible speech impediment, which can be corrected through speech therapy. • The trend away from rehabilitative programming in prisons may indicate a decrease in the public's belief that inmates are corrigible. Corrigibility, a noun, is the capacity to be set right. • The corrigibility of the damage to the train could only be determined after extensive inspection and testing. The opposite of corrigible is incorrigible, meaning not reformable, uncontrollable, recalcitrant. • Julius was an incorrigible daydreamer; no matter how much his teachers scolded him, he would much rather be hanging out in his own imaginary world than paying attention to his lesson.

COUNTENANCE

COUNTENANCE (KOWN tuh punts) v to approve of or tolerate • Her refusal to countenance any of what she called "backtalk" made her an unpopular babysitter, but even the children had to admit that things were less chaotic when she was around. • The dean fully countenanced the addition of the new athletic complex, saying that a healthy body would only aid in the development of a healthy mind. Countenance can also be a noun, in which case it means mien, face, composure. • The countenance of the woman in Dorothea Lange's famous photograph, "Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California" is one of the most powerful and enduring images of the Great Depression; the woman's face communicates such fear and despair, and yet also strength, that it has become iconic.

COZEN

COZEN (KUH zun) v to deceive, beguile, hoodwink • The corrupt televangelist cozened millions of dollars out of his viewers by convincing them that he would perform miracles to make them all win the lottery. For a related word, see guile.

CREDULOUS

CREDULOUS (KRE juh lus) adj tending to believe too readily; gullible • That sculpture in the lobby was so obviously a fake that it would convince only the most credulous person; after all, the "gold" left something that looked suspiciously like paint on our fingers when we touched the sculpture. • Nathan was so credulous that he believed us when we told him that naugahyde comes from horse-like creatures called naugas, who eat plastic grass.

CULPABLE

CULPABLE (KUL puh bul) adj deserving blame • Pat could hardly be thought culpable for spilling the cranberry juice on the floor, since he wasn't even in the room at the time. • If she is judged culpable of improper conduct, the governing board will decide her punishment. Culpability is blameworthiness. • His culpability was never in doubt once the auditors traced the embezzlement back to his department. For a realted word, see exculpate.

DAUNT

DAUNT (dawnt) v to intimidate or dismay • At first, the protagonist of the fairy tale was daunted by the task given to him; he didn't know how he would ever sort the grains of wheat and barley until the ants arrived to help him. The adjective daunting means dismaying, disheartening. • The daunting prospect of getting all our laundry done by Sunday afternoon was so overwhelming that we decided to put it off yet again. There's another related adjective, dauntless, which means fearless, undaunted, intrepid. • Robin Hood and his dauntless henchmen defeated the bad guy, Sheriff Nottingham.

DEARTH

DEARTH (durth) n smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; lack • The dearth of snow this winter increases the likelihood of a drought next summer. • Since there is a dearth of talented singers who auditioned for the part, I may actually end up singing, which isn't good at all!

DEBACLE

DEBACLE (di BAH cul) n rout, fiasco, complete failure • The performance was a complete debacle; not only did I end up singing, but the cloud props we were using also fell down mid-way through the play, prompting the audience to shout "the sky is falling, the sky is falling." • Trying to avoid a debacle, the candidate decided to withdraw from the race shortly before election day.

DECORUM

DECORUM (di COR um) n politeness or appropriateness of conduct or behavior • In Shaw's Pygmalion, Henry Higgins attempts to train Eliza Doolittle in proper decorum for high society, with often very funny results. • Where did we ever get the notion that extending one's pinky finger while drinking tea was the height of decorum? Something marked by decorum is decorous. • Olivia's decorous decline of our invitation was so politely and perfectly said that we could hardly take offense.

DELETERIOUS

DELETERIOUS (del uh TEER ee us) adj injurious; harmful • The symptoms originally seemed to indicate something as innocuous as the common cold, but eventually the disease's deleterious effects were better understood. • Though it originally seemed like a good idea to cut the quality of the product, the overall effect on customer relationships has been deleterious. Do you see delete inside of this word? It's no accident something that is deleted is erased, and something deleterious is likely to have a similar harmful effect.

DENIGRATE

DENIGRATE (DEN i grayt) v blacken, belittle, sully, defame, disparage • Though some might have denigrated our efforts at cooking breakfast, which consisted of cold eggs, bitter coffee and burnt toast, our mother was very appreciative of our attempt and bravely ate all of it. • Edna was notorious for denigrating everyone else's work, but never being willing to hear the slightest criticism of her own. Denigration is the act of denigrating, or the act of making denigrating comments. • William's confidence was so shaken by the months of denigration at the hands of his former boss, that he almost didn't believe the praise he was getting now.

DENOUEMENT

DENOUEMENT (day noo MA) n an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot • Receiving the Nobel Prize was a fitting denouement to his brilliant research. • The denouement seemed completely contrived; the happy ending didn't fit with the tone of the entire rest of the movie.

DEPRECATE

DEPRECATE (DE pri kayt) v to disparage or belittle • You can deprecate his work all you want but it won't affect my opinion; I don't care if his writing is sometimes amateurish, I still like it. To be self-deprecating is to belittle yourself or your accomplishments. • We worried that his self-deprecating humor wasn't as light-hearted as it seemed, but was instead a sign of deeper insecurity.

DEPREDATE

DEPREDATE (DE pruh dayt) v to plunder, pillage, ravage or destroy; to exploit in a predatory manner • The pirates depredated every ship that came through the straits for two years, until no captain was willing to risk that route and the port town became deserted. Depredations are attacks, or ravages. • Ten years of the dictator's depredations had left the country a wasteland. • The depredations of time and hard living have left his once handsome face a mass of wrinkles and broken blood vessels.

DERISION

DERISION (di RI zhun) n scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment • Her derision was all the more painful because I suspected that her review of my performance was accurate. To deride is to express contempt. • The media derided her attempted comeback, calling her a "has been," even though she had been their darling only a few months before.

DERIVATIVE

DERIVATIVE (di RI vuh tiv) adj unoriginal, obtained from another source • Some people claim that there is nothing new under the sun, and that all contemporary art is therefore derivative of work that came before it.

DESICCATE

DESICCATE (DES u kayt) v to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull • Pemmican, a food developed by Native Americans, is made by desiccating meat so that it can be preserved for long trips, then pounding it and combining it with other ingredients • His skin was so desiccated by sun exposure that it looked like parchment. • The desiccated prose of the old volume of stories I found in the attic was as dull in style as its actual pages were dry and brittle.

DESUETUDE

DESUETUDE (DES wi tood) n disuse • After sitting abandoned for years, the house's desuetude came to an end when the county bought it and turned it into a teen center.

DESULTORY

DESULTORY (DES ul tor ee) adj random; thoughtless; marked by a lack of plan or purpose • His desultory efforts in studying for the test were immediately obvious to his teacher as soon as she began to score his exam. • We abandoned our desultory attempts to form a book club once our primary instigator gave up on us and joined another group.

DETRACTION

DETRACTION (di TRAK shun) n slandering, verbal attack, aspersion • Apparently the mayor's campaign of detraction backfired, since a record number of people voted for his opponent, many of them citing the vitriol of the mayor's attacks as the reason they voted against him. • Terrence's detraction of Raul's performance only served to reveal how jealous he was of Raul's success.

DIAPHANOUS

DIAPHANOUS (dy AF uh nus) adj transparent, gauzy • Her diaphanous gown left little to the imagination. As we stood behind the waterfall, the cascade of water formed a sort of diaphanous veil in front of us.

DIATRIBE

DIATRIBE (DY uh tryb) n a harsh denunciation • What started out as seemingly normal discussion about what to have for lunch, rapidly and somewhat bizarrely turned into a diatribe about the difficulty of finding a decent pickle. • His anti-development diatribe was well-received by local residents who wanted to see the field preserved as an open space rather than turned into a shopping center.

DIDACTIC

DIDACTIC (dy OAK tik) adj intended to teach or instruct • Rachel's attempt to hide the activity's didactic intent by wrapping it in the guise of a fun game didn't fool the third graders for a minute; they could always smell something educational a mile off. • His didactic tone grated on me; whom did he think he was to try to teach me something while we were on a date?

DIE

DIE (dye) n a tool used for shaping • When coins are made by hand, a die is usually used to press the design on each coin

DIFFIDENT

DIFFIDENT (DIF uh dint) adj reserved, shy, unassuming; lacking in self-confidence • He was a diffident reader of his own poetry, and which sometimes kept his audience from recognizing the real power of his writing. The noun, diffidence, means a lack of confidence. • I began to suspect that her diffidence was merely an act, and that this seemingly meek woman was really plotting to take over not only the department, but also the entire world.

DIGRESS

DIGRESS (dy GRES) v to stray from the point; to go off on a tangent • My aunt's tendency to digress is legendary; she can get so far off topic that no one can remember the starting point, but the journey is always fascinating. A digression is something that has digressed. • The speaker asked our indulgence while he made a short digression, the point of which would become clear eventually.

DILATE

DILATE (DYE layt) v to become wider or more open • Until Khoa's eyes dilated to let in more light, he couldn't find an empty seat in the darkened theater. To dilate can also mean to speak or write about something at length.

DILATORY

DILATORY (OIL uh tor ee) adj causing delay, procrastinating • The legislator was able to create the dilatory effect he sought by means of a twenty-three-hour-long filibuster. • His dilatory habits were a source of exasperation for his boss, who never knew whether something would be finished on time or not.

DILETTANTE

DILETTANTE (OIL uh tahnt) n one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge • The negative connotation of a dilettante as one whose interest in a subject is trivial is relatively recent; it hasn't always been a bad thing to be a dilettante. • Dilettantes did much of the scientific work in early America; professional positions for scientists are largely a phenomenon of the twentieth century. A dilettantish effort or interest is one that is frivolous or superficial. This can also be spelled "dilettanteish." • Even though she didn't take it very seriously at the time, her dilettantish interest in the arts while in college laid the framework for a satisfying career as curator of a major art museum years later.

DIN

DIN (din) n loud sustained noise • Because we couldn't hear each other over the din coming from the kitchen, I thought she said she had met Sasqautch, when she had really asked whether I was wearing my watch. • The din of the faulty muffler drowned out all the other noises that would have confirmed the very poor odds of my car making it another five miles. For a related word, see cacophony.

DIRGE

DIRGE (durj) n a mournful song or poem for the dead • Because Grandma wanted no dirges sung at her funeral, we hired a singer to reinterpret some of her favorite popular music from her teen years. Dirge can also be used figuratively, to describe something that sounds like a funeral lament. • The only sound on the dark prairie was the dirge sung by the wolves.

DISABUSE

DISABUSE (dis uh BYOOZ) v to undeceive; to set right • The screws left over after he had assembled the bookcase, along with its tendency to tip over, disabused Joe of the idea that reading the instructions was optional. • I hate to disabuse you of the notion of your own genius, but you just got a "D" on that midterm that you said you were going to ace.

DISCOMFIT

DISCOMFIT (dis KUM fit) v to defeat, put down Nowadays, discomfit also means to embarrass or make uncomfortable, but its original meaning is to thwart the plans of. • The enemy's superior planning and resources discomfited us. They defeated us easily, despite our hopes of discomfiting their attack.

DISCORDANT

DISCORDANT (dis KORD int) adj conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound • Because the group had been fractured by discord for so long, it was surprising, to say the least, to watch them put aside their discordant views and begin to get along as if they had never disagreed. • As one discordant note followed another, I started to get a headache from the noise.

DISCRETION

DISCRETION (dis KRE shun) n cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions • The matchmaker's discretion was the key to her remarkable success; her clients knew she would not reveal their identities inappropriately. • The discretion required of the agent should not be underestimated; he will need to make critical decisions under severe time constraints and often at considerable risk to himself.

DISINTERESTED

DISINTERESTED (dis IN ter est ed) adj free from self-interest; unbiased This one gets a little complicated. Disinterested and uninterested have a pretty convoluted history. Uninterested, when it first showed up in the seventeenth century, meant "impartial." At some point, though, that meaning was replaced in popular usage with its current meaning: "not caring or having an interest in," as in the sentence, "I am completely uninterested in attending the concert." At about the same time, the original use of disinterested to mean "not caring or having an interest in" was changing in favor of "free from bias." Confused yet? It gets worse. To recap: disinterested means "unbiased" and uninterested means "uncaring," right? However, increasingly writers are switching them back around. The people who police the proper usage of words in English say this isn't allowable, but the writers do it anyway. Usually you can tell from context which definition someone intends. • We need a disinterested party to arbitrate the property dispute, since each of the participants has too much at stake to remain unbiased. • Her disinterested assessment was that the food was terrible, which we had to believe since she had no reason to lie.

DISPARAGE

DISPARAGE (dis PAR aj) v to slight or belittle • I don't think you have any right to disparage his attempts until you have tried riding the mechanical bull yourself. Disparaging remarks are those that express a negative, usually dismissive, opinion of something or someone.

DISPARATE

DISPARATE (DIS puh rut) adj fundamentally distinct or dissimilar • I found it amazing that two people with such disparate tastes could decorate a house together. • The disparate results of the two experiments confused the scientists who had conducted both in exactly the same manner; the only explanation seemed to be that the samples used were fundamentally different in a way the scientists had not previously realized.

DISSEMBLE

DISSEMBLE (di SEM bul) v to disguise or conceal; to mislead • Her coy attempts to dissemble her plagiarism were completely transparent; no one believed her. • Dissembling on your grad school application is an absolute no-no.

DISSONANCE

DISSONANCE (DIS uh nunts) n lack of harmony; conflict. Literally, dissonance refers to sounds, such as musical notes, that lack harmony. However, it can also refer to any conflict in a figurative sense. • The dissonance in the grunge album suited Kumiko's foul mood perfectly. • There is so much dissonance among the team members that it is difficult to reach consensus on even the smallest points of the proposal. Something with dissonance can be described as dissonant.

DIVULGE

DIVULGE (di VULJ) v to disclose something secret • She believed she had been fired because she had threatened to divulge information about the company's mismanagement. • It is a basic tenet of most secret societies that members are not allowed to divulge anything about the initiation rites to outsiders. • His journal divulged a side of his personality that no one had ever seen.

DOGGEREL

DOGGEREL (DAW guh rul) n trivial, poorly constructed verse • For some reason, I could always remember the bit of doggerel I read on the bathroom wall, though I had long since forgotten all the exquisite poetry I read in my classes in college.

DOGMATIC

DOGMATIC (dawg MAtik) adj authoritatively and or arrogantly assertive of principles, which often cannot be proved; stubbornly opinionated • Evelyn's dogmatic insistence on the importance of following procedure to the letter frustrated her coworkers who were willing to cut a few corners in the interest of saving time. • Percy always became dogmatic when it came to any discussion of music; he absolutely insisted that jazz was the only music worth listening to and that all other kinds were completely devoid of merit. Dogma is a related word that you may be familiar with, and it means a statement of ideas that is considered to be absolutely true. Though these ideas can be set forth by a religious order; they don't have to be; the definition here is purely secular.

DROSS

DROSS (drahs) n slag, waste or foreign matter, impurity, surface scum • We discarded the dross that had formed at the top of the cider during the fermentation process. • Howard has convinced himself that his poor memory is a consequence of all the unnecessary information his brain has accumulated over the years; that's why he is busy cataloguing all the dross, especially the obsolete telephone numbers and advertising jingles, that he plans to forget systematically in order to create space for more important information.

DULCET

DULCET (DUL sut) adj melodious, harmonious, mellifluous • The dulcet tones of the dulcimer were exquisite and made the performance particularly memorable. • The fact that I thought her voice a dulcet wonder shows you how infatuated I was; most people thought she sounded like a sick moose.

DUPE

DUPE (doop) n one who is deceived • What do I look like—a dupe? No one with any sense could possibly believe the story you're trying to sell. Dupe can also be a verb. • No one will ever be able to dupe Sara into giving out her social security number again; that one case of identity theft was enough.

DYNAMO

DYNAMO (DY nuh moh) n generator; forceful, energetic person The technical definition of a dynamo is a generator of current, which gives rise to the metaphorical use for describing a person as forceful or energetic. • Courtney was truly the dynamo of the group; without her we'd probably still be sitting on the couch instead of being three days into our road trip. It's no accident if this word reminds you of dynamite or dynamic; all three words have roots in the Greek word for power.

EBULLIENCE

EBULLIENCE (ih BOOL yunts) adj the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings • Vivian's ebullience was contagious, which is what made her such a great tour guide; her infectious enthusiasm for her subject always communicated itself to her listeners. • Allen's love of birds was clear from the ebullience with which he described them.

ECCENTRIC

ECCENTRIC (ek SEN trik) adj departing from norms or conventions • Although he was often described by colleagues as a bit eccentric, it was precisely the unconventionality of his bedside manner that made the doctor so beloved by his young patients. Something or someone eccentric demonstrates eccentricity. • The big purple flower tied to the antenna of Felicia's car is hardly a mark of eccentricity; it's there so she can easily find her car in a parking lot.

ECLECTIC

ECLECTIC (ek LEK tik) adj composed of elements drawn from various sources • It was easy to get a sense of Alison's eclectic taste from looking at her music collection, which contained everything from Mahler to Metallica. • The house's eclectic architectural style somehow managed to combine elements of seemingly incongruous periods into one cohesive design.

EDIFYING

EDIFYING (ED i fy ing) adj enlightening, informative • The lecture we attended on the consequences of globalization was highly edifying, but what I learned only made me want to know more. Edification is the process of edifying. • Upon his promotion, Krishna attended a seminar on being a first-time manager that his boss recommended for professional development and edification. Some people incorrectly use edifying to mean satisfying, and while being enlightened can be satisfying, the two are not the exactly the same.

EFFICACY

EFFICACY (EF ih kuh see) n the ability to produce an intended result • Though anecdotal stories abound regarding the efficacy of the herb, its effectiveness has not been studied scientifically in any major way. • The efficacy of the ad campaign cannot be definitely measured at this stage in the game, but already the public response seems positive. Efficacy shares a root with effectiveness, and means pretty much the same thing.

EFFRONTERY

EFFRONTERY (i FRUNT uh ree) n extreme boldness; presumptuousness • The effrontery of her demand astonished everyone; no one had ever dared ask the head of the department to explain his reasoning before. • Gary's effrontery in inviting himself to the party said a lot about his inflated sense of himself as well as his lack of sense about how others saw him. • Teresa couldn't believe her boss's effrontery in asking her to start a new project at eight o'clock on a Friday night.

EFFUSIVE

EFFUSIVE (i FY00 siv) ad] gushing; excessively demonstrative • Her effusive good wishes seemed a bit forced; it was hard to believe she was no longer bitter about having had her own grant proposal turned down. • The effusiveness of the review from a critic known for his stinginess with praise might have had something to do with the VIP treatment from the entire restaurant staff.

EGRESS

EGRESS (EE gres) n exit Egress can either be a noun, meaning an exit or going out, or a verb, meaning to exit or emerge. Ingress is the opposite of egress. • The dancer's final egress from the stage brought the audience to its feet in a standing ovation. • Although the egress was clearly marked with a big green sign saying "EXIT," I still had trouble locating it because I had lost my glasses by the time I was ready to leave.

ELEGY

ELEGY (EL uh jee) n a mournful poem, especially one lamenting the dead; any mournful writing or piece of music • His elegy for the long-lost carefree days of his youth was moving, if somewhat cliched. • It seemed a little silly for him to compose an elegy for his pet tadpole, especially since it hadn't died, even if now it was a frog instead of the tadpole he once loved. It's very easy to confuse elegy with eulogy, which is also in this book, but the two aren't exactly the same.

ELOQUENT

ELOQUENT (EL uh kwent) ad] well-spoken; expressive; articulate • It was hard to believe English wasn't her native language given her eloquent use of it. • Admittedly, it's hard to be eloquent with peas in your mouth and mashed potatoes on your nose, but I think you communicated your ideas quite clearly nonetheless. • The eloquence of his prose is even more incredible given its simplicity; he conveys his meaning clearly and beautifully without any frills at all.

EMOLLIENT

EMOLLIENT (i MAHL yint) adj soothing, especially to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying • Oatmeal's emollient qualities when added to bath water make it an effective aid in soothing the discomfort of poison oak. • Her kind words had an emollient effect on us, soothing our bruised egos.

EMPIRICAL

EMPIRICAL (im PIR i kul) adj based on observation or experiment • Skeptics demanded empirical evidence before accepting the psychic's claims that he was communicating with representatives from beyond the grave. • The empirical data produced by the study was surprising to many; it contradicted the assumptions researchers had been operating under for decades.

ENCOMIUM

ENCOMIUM (en KOH mee um) n glowing and enthusiastic praise; panegyric, tribute, eulogy • The recently released tribute album was created as an encomium to the singer many considered the grandfather of soul music. • The encomiums swelled to a torrent as details of the philanthropist's billion-dollar donation became known; each newspaper tried to outdo the others in praising her.

ENDEMIC

ENDEMIC (en DEM ik) adj characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people; restricted to or peculiar to that region; indigenous • Some pundits argue that the corruption endemic to politics today is responsible for the public apathy evident in record low voter turnouts. • The species of badger endemic to the region has recently been placed on the endangered species list; its territory is being encroached upon by housing developments and that specific habitat is the only one in which it can survive. For a related word, see pandemic.

ENERVATE

ENERVATE (EN ur vayt) v to weaken; to reduce in vitality • We were so enervated by the heat and humidity that we didn't even have the energy to turn on the fan. • Having braved the malls on the day after Thanksgiving, we were so enervated by the time we got home that we didn't even make it all the way into the house; we had to take a nap on the front steps first. • Enervation is a common symptom of anemia. Be careful! Enervate is extremely easy to confuse with innervate, which is also in this book. Although their spellings are similar, their meanings and pronunciations are very different. See innervate for more information.

ENGENDER

ENGENDER (en JEN dur) v to cause, produce, give rise to • Clyde's announcement that he plans to retire at the end of the year engendered intense speculation about whom he will appoint as his successor. • Technical manuals, ostensibly designed to make things easier, can sometimes engender even more confusion than they prevent.

ENNUI

ENNUI (ahn WEE) n dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy • The end-of-summer ennui had set in, making Hannah and Jeremy almost look forward to the distraction of going back to school... almost. • Serena's claim that a rousing game of Go Fish would cure us of our ennui left us somewhat skeptical.

ENORMITY

ENORMITY (i NOR mi tee) n excessive wickedness, evilness Be very careful not to confuse this with enormousness. Enormousness means huge size; enormity does not. Thus, if we talk about the enormity of a crime we are never talking about its size; we're talking about its wickedness. • The enormity of the terrorist act stunned and outraged the world.

EPHEMERAL

EPHEMERAL (i FEM uh rul) adj brief; fleeting, short-lived • My ephemeral first romance lasted precisely as long as summer camp did. • The effects of the treatment were powerful but ephemeral, so that patients had to return to the hospital to repeat the procedure as often as once a day. • Oh, how ephemeral is fame! It lasts but fifteen minutes, it seems!

EPICURE

EPICURE (EP i kyur) n one devoted to sensual pleasure, particularly in food and drink; gourmand, sybarite • After watching too many cooking shows, Larry became such an epicure that he lost his ability to appreciate the gustatory pleasures of a frozen pizza. Epicurean means appropriate to an epicure's tastes. • The exotic epicurean pleasures provided at the five star restaurant made it very popular despite its exorbitant prices. • Because of the high levels of humidity in the region, equable temperatures are maintained almost year-round.

EQUIVOCATE

EQUIVOCATE (ee KWI vuh kayt) v to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent • She argued that the company was guilty of equivocating when it claimed it could "teach you to type in one hour or less" because it was unclear whether that meant they guaranteed you would be able to hit a single key or type fifty words a minute at the end of that hour. • The equivocal language of the contract was designed to deceive gullible buyers—caveat emptor indeed!

ERRANT

ERRANT (ER unt) ad] traveling, itinerant, peripatetic • A knight-errant was a guy in armor who wandered around looking for adventures to prove his general studliness. • Travels with Charley is Steinbeck's account of his errant journey across America with his French poodle, Charley. Be careful! Errant doesn't have anything to do with errors, despite its appearance and even though inerrant means infallible.

ERRATIC

ERRATIC (ur RAT ik) ad] without consistency • Chau's capability to regulate her movements seems to evaporate when she hits the dance floor, and she flails around to an erratic rhythm only she can hear. • Though Lorne's boss always came up with wonderful ideas, Lorne sometimes found it difficult to follow her erratic trains of thought. Erratic comes from a root meaning to wander, and that's just how you can think of this word: wandering off the steady course. Eccentric is a close synonym.

ERUDITE

ERUDITE (ER yuh dyt) adj very learned; scholarly • All six volumes of Gibbon's erudite Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire have long been required reading in Professor Smith's course on the history of classical scholarship. Erudition is profound learning or extensive knowledge, learned primarily through books. • Although his dissertation was generally hailed as a masterpiece of erudition, some critics who acknowledged the virtuosity of its scholarship nonetheless took issue with its lack of reference to the lived experience of actual people.

ESOTERIC

ESOTERIC (e soh TER ik) adj intended for or understood by a small, specific group • Even though most of the sect's practices were well-documented by anthropologists, some of its most esoteric rites had never been witnessed by outsiders. • The most esoteric course offering this spring seems to be Advanced Pig Latin.

ESSAY

ESSAY (e SAY) v to test or try; attempt, experiment • It was incredible to watch Valerie essay her first steps after her long convalescence; we were so proud of how hard she had worked at her rehabilitation. Essay can also be a noun, meaning the attempt itself. • My frequent essays at organization were always successful for a few weeks but fell apart shortly thereafter.

ESTIMABLE

ESTIMABLE (EST uh muh bul) adj worthy, formidable • Despite his estimable efforts, Alvin was unable to finish his spinach; it really was an impressive attempt, though. • Garry Kasparov's estimable opponent in the famous man versus machine chess game was a computer named Deep Blue.

EULOGY

EULOGY (YOO luh jee) n a speech honoring the dead • It was impossible for Sonya to conceal her grief at the funeral; she started weeping during the delivery of the eulogy. • The eulogy briefly mentioned his many public accomplishments, but focused far more on how much he had meant to his friends and family. You may have already seen the word elegy in this book. It is easy to confuse elegy with eulogy, but they're not entirely the same.

EVANESCENT

EVANESCENT (e vahn E sunt) adj tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing • All trace of the evanescent first snow vanished as soon as the midday sun appeared. • Thankfully, the pain of my first heartbreak was as evanescent as the romance itself; we fell in love on the way to school one morning, broke up on the monkey bars during lunch, and I was sufficiently recovered to fall in love with someone else on the way home.

EVINCE

EVINCE (i VINTS) v to show clearly, to indicate • The expression on Jane's face evinced what she thought of the proposal; it's amazing how clearly "you must be kidding" can be communicated without speaking a word. • Although Victor's work evinced great potential, he had significantly more to do before his article would be ready for publication. • Yolanda evinced great heroism during the fire, reentering the house twice to save the children trapped inside.

EXACERBATE

EXACERBATE (ig ZA sur bayt) v to make worse or more severe • My mother insisted that going outside with wet hair would only exacerbate my cold, and she was probably right since now I have pneumonia. • The government's refusal to recognize the new ambassador exacerbated an already tense situation; many feared it could lead to war.

EXACT

EXACT (ig ZAKT) v to demand, call for, require, take • Celebrities often complain that fame exacts a heavy price in loss of privacy, but their fans don't seem to care much, perhaps thinking that this is a reasonable exchange for the money and glory. • In the Merchant of Venice, a pound of flesh is exacted in exchange for money.

EXCORIATE

EXCORIATE (ex KOR ee ayt) v to censure scathingly, to upbraid • The editorial excoriated those artists who attended the event instead of observing the boycott called for by human rights groups. • Even though the mayor was excoriated by many for his role in the scandal, he nonetheless chose to run for reelection and seemed to have a reasonable chance of winning, which many found appalling.

EXCULPATE

EXCULPATE (EX cul payt) v exonerate; to clear of blame • Far from exculpating him as he had hoped, the new evidence only served to convince the jury of his guilt. • I was able to exculpate myself from the charges of cheating by taking another exam and receiving the same grade on it as I had on the first one. For some examples of words with the same root, see culpable.

EXHORT

EXHORT (ig ZORT) v to incite, to make urgent appeals • At the last second I realized that he was waving his arms frantically to exhort me to look down before I fell off the cliff. • Our coach exhorted us to greater and greater efforts, urging us not to give up even in the face of a twenty-point deficit. • His exhortations failed to motivate us; we were just too tired from moving boxes all day.

EXIGENT

EXIGENT (EX i junt) ad] urgent; pressing; requiring immediate action or attention • Exigent circumstances require extreme action; if we didn't act soon we would lose the scavenger hunt, so we just went to the store and bought the rest of the items. It may have been cheating, but we felt the situation required it. Exigencies are urgent or pressing situations. • The exigencies of the food shortage brought out a level of altruism and compassion in the townspeople that they didn't demonstrate under ordinary circumstances.

EXONERATE

EXONERATE (ig ZAHN ur ayt) v to remove blame • The number of death row inmates exonerated by DNA tests in the last few years has caused some to call for a moratorium on executions. • Kim was exonerated of having taken her sister's shoes when the missing boots were discovered under a pile of dirty laundry. Exculpate is similar in meaning to exonerate.

EXPATIATE

EXPATIATE (ex PAY shee ayt) v discuss or write about at length; to range freely • My aunt and uncle expatiated on the subject of their Florida vacation for three hours, accompanied by slides, until we were all crazy with boredom. • His ability to expatiate on such a variety of subjects without notes made watching him speak something like taking a trip without a map; the journey set its own course.

EXPIATE

EXPIATE (EX pee ayt) v to atone or make amends for • He feared that nothing could expiate the insensitivity of his comments. • Elvira tried to expiate her lateness by bringing flowers. • In the Middle Ages, it became a common practice to expiate one's sins by buying indulgences.

EXPURGATE

EXPURGATE (EX pur gayt) v to remove obscenity, purify, censor • The expurgated version of the novel was incredibly boring; it turned out that the parts the censors removed had been the only interesting ones. • The editorial committee removed some sections of the essay that it found morally objectionable, and it also expurgated a significant number of factual errors. Expurgate shares a root with purge, which means to cleanse or make pure.

EXTANT

EXTANT (EK stunt) adj existing, not destroyed or lost • There are forty-eight copies of the Gutenberg Bible extant today. • Since there are no portraits extant of the famous general, we have only written descriptions to tell us how he looked.

EXTEMPORANEOUS

EXTEMPORANEOUS (ek stem por AY nee us) adj improvised; done without preparation • Her extemporaneous remarks at the reception demonstrated that her speechwriter must largely be responsible for her reputation for eloquence. • Their skit was pure comic genius; I couldn't believe it was extemporaneous.

EXTIRPATE

EXTIRPATE (EK stur payt) v to destroy, exterminate, cut out, pull out by the roots • The dodo bird was extirpated by a combination of hunting by humans and predation by non-native animals. • She set out on a self-improvement plan to extirpate every single one of her bad habits, but quickly realized she would have nothing left to do if she cut them all out. • My worst summer job ever involved extirpating an entire acre of weeds.

FACETIOUS

FACETIOUS (fuh SEE shus) adj playful; humorous; not serious • It took me a while to figure out that his offer to pay me a million dollars for doing the dishes was facetious; it wasn't all that funny since I didn't get the joke until after I had spent an hour cleaning up. • I hope his comment about the thirty page paper due tomorrow was facetious, or I'm going to be up all night writing.

FALLACY

FALLACY (FAL uh see) n an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief • Penny refused to listen to any attempts to explain the Easter Bunny fallacy; every spring she went looking for a big pink fuzzy rabbit carrying baskets of chocolate eggs. • Unfortunately, the fallacies of diet programs promising effortless weight loss continue to find plenty of people willing to be fooled.

FATUOUS

FATUOUS (FAT yoo us) adj silly, inanely foolish • We suspected that the fatuous grin on Amy's face was evidence of a chocolate chip cookie overdose; she had eaten so many that she had become completely goofy. • Despite the sitcom's fatuous dialogue, it continued to be number one in the ratings. Fatuous often has a connotation of smugness to go along with the foolishness. • The politician's fatuous remarks revealed that he was not only pompous, but also not very bright.

FAWN

FAWN (fawn) v to flatter or praise excessively • Hector used to think it would be great to be a rock star and have groupies fawning all over him; he changed his mind the first time the fans tore all his clothes off. • Even though the press fawned over him incessantly, Brian was able to see through the flattery and realize that only his close friends really respected him.

FETID

FETID (FE tud) adj stinking, having a heavy bad smell • We were never able to determine exactly what the fetid green substance we found in the refrigerator was; no one was willing to get close enough to that horrible smell to investigate. • The fetid swamp that lay between the beach and us led us to reconsider our plans for the day; staying inside with all the doors closed started sounding—and smelling—pretty good.

FETTER

FETTER (FWE tur) v to shackle, put in chains, restrain • Fran was fettered in her attempts to find the hotel by her inability to speak French. Fetters are literally shackles that are used to bind someone's feet or ankles together, but the word can also be used figuratively to mean anything that restrains. • The image of the freedom fighter tearing off the fetters that bound her became a worldwide symbol of liberation. • Responsibilities to her family and caring for her younger brothers and sisters were the fetters that kept Connie from pursuing her dream of acting. Unfettered means free or unhampered.

FILIBUSTER

FILIBUSTER (FIL uh bus tur) n intentional obstruction, usually using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action • Strom Thurmond holds the record for the longest filibuster in the history of the U.S. Senate, speaking for more than twenty—four hours to block a bill. Filibuster can also be used as a verb. • The senator threatened to filibuster in order to stop the bill from reaching a vote.

FILIGREE

FILIGREE (FIL uh gree) n an ornamental work, especially of delicate lacelike patterns; resembling such a pattern • The decorative filigree of its design disguised the wrought iron fence's practical purpose. As a verb, to filigree means to adorn. • The brooch was filigreed with a delicate pattern of vines and grapes.

FLAG

FLAG (flag) v to sag or droop, to become spiritless, to decline • The fans' spirits flagged when the opposing team intercepted the ball in the last few minutes of the game and scored. • Our unflagging efforts, aided by a few pots of coffee, were rewarded when we finished the project in time for the competition.

FLIP

FLIP (flip) adj sarcastic, impertinent • His flip remarks were intended to keep anyone from realizing how much he actually cared. • One more flip answer out of you, young man, and you're going to your room without supper. Flippant and flippancy probably come from this word and have related meanings. • Her flippant attitude made her beloved by her classmates and distrusted by her teachers.

FLOUT

FLOUT (flowt) v to demonstrate contempt for • Gertrude's reputation for flouting the rules was so well known that she was no longer able to get away with anything at all. • Alice flouted convention by showing up for the wedding in a bathing suit and the picnic in a tuxedo.

FOMENT

FOMENT (FOH ment) v to stir up, incite, rouse • Although they accused Kayla of fomenting the protest, she had actually been the one trying to calm everyone down. • When Eris, the goddess of discord, threw the golden apple into the wedding to which she had not been invited, she fomented the conflict that would result in the Trojan War. Be careful not to confuse this with ferment. Both can mean to agitate, but ferment usually means to cause to undergo the chemical change of fermentation.

FORBEARANCE

FORBEARANCE (for BAYR unts) n patience, willingness to wait • Lacy hoped that her professor's reputation for forbearance was well founded and that she would get an extension on her paper. • You have tested my forbearance as far as it can go; if you don't stop drinking my milk I'm going to pour it over your head. Forbearance can also be a legal term describing a creditor's agreement not to demand payment of a debt when it is due. For instance, if a forbearance is granted, you might be able to pay your student loans over a longer period of time than originally allowed. Forbear means to refrain from and the past tense is forbore. The noun forbear is a variation of forebear, which is an ancestor.

FORD

FORD (ford) v to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream • I may have lost my shirt and my pants while trying to ford the river, but at least I still had my hat when I got to the other side.

FORESTALL

FORESTALL (for STAHL) v to act in a way to hinder, exclude or prevent an action; to circumvent or thwart • Thank goodness Louise forestalled any further discussion of what we were going to eat for dinner by ordering a pizza; otherwise we'd still be hungry and talking five hours later. • The famous actress was trying to forestall aging by undergoing ever more bizarre therapies and cosmetic surgeries.

FORSWEAR

FORSWEAR (for SWAYR) v to renounce, disallow, repudiate • Forswearing all previous alliances, the paranoid dictator vowed to allow no one to share his power. • Even though she forswore all other vices, Gina knew she wouldn't be able to give up smoking cigars.

FORTUITOUS

FORTUITOUS (for TOO uh tus) adj happening by fortunate accident or chance • The movie's reliance on the heroine's fortuitous meeting with her long lost brother in order to provide a happy ending displeased many critics. • How fortuitous that I happened to be home when the sweepstakes people stopped by to give me a million dollars!

FRACAS

FRACAS (FRAY kus) n noisy fight or quarrel, brawl • Every good honky tonk needs a fracas now and again in order to maintain its reputation. • The fracas that started between the two cab drivers gradually grew until it included most of the bystanders as well and turned into a small riot.

FRACTIOUS

FRACTIOUS (FRAK shus) adj quarrelsome, rebellious, unruly, cranky • Vince's fractious response to my suggestion was completely uncharacteristic, given his usually easygoing and agreeable attitude. • The party's fractious internal politics made it difficult for it to gain influence, since all its members' time was spent quarreling. • Nothing makes me more fractious in the morning than not being able to find a parking space when it's raining.

FROWARD

FROWARD (FROH urd) adj intractable, not willing to yield or comply, stubbornly disobedient • Two year-olds have a reputation for being froward; they've discovered the pleasure of saying no. • No matter how much I pleaded and prodded, my froward mule refused to take a single step. Don't confuse this with forward!

FULMINATE

FULMINATE (FUL muh nayt) v to attack loudly or denounce • Since he had been fulminating against corporate misconduct for years, his enemies were gleeful to uncover evidence of the million-dollar payoff he received from the state's largest company. • Grandpa Joe's favorite activity was fulminating against the decline of modern civilization, as evidenced by heavy metal bands and game show hosts.

FURTIVE

FURTIVE (FUR tiv) adj marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious • The dog's furtive attempts to steal food from the table while no one was looking were thwarted when a whole turkey came crashing to the floor. • His furtive glances around the room made him look guilty, even if he wasn't really trying to hide anything.

GAINSAY

GAINSAY (gayn SAY) v to deny, dispute, contradict, oppose • It is difficult to gainsay the critics when every new movie the director makes is a flop. • Joel refused to be gainsaid, insisting all along that he was right despite the evidence to the contrary.

GLIB

GLIB (glib) adj marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial • Although everyone had thought he was virtually guaranteed the position, his glib attitude during the interview made the director think he didn't care and cost him the job. • Laurence glibly dismissed his critics' attacks, refusing to take them at all seriously.

GOSSAMER

GOSSAMER (GAH suh mur) ad] delicate, insubstantial or tenuous; insincere • The kite was made out of a gossamer substance that seemed hardly substantial enough to let it survive even the lightest of breezes. • His gossamer promises of justice turned out just to be a way to fool everyone into thinking he planned to be true to his word.

GRANDILOQUENCE

GRANDILOQUENCE (gran DI luh kwunts) n pompous speech or expression • His grandiloquence made him an easy target for ridicule once we all figured out he didn't even know most of the big words he used. • The author's grandiloquent style gave me a headache; it was so hard to wade through all the flowery language to get to the real meaning that I gave up after an hour. For a related word, see bombastic.

GROUSE

GROUSE (grows) v to complain or grumble • Although I always grouse about my roommates and their tendency to eat all the food and leave dirty dishes and laundry lying around, I still wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. • Ferdinand's constant grousing about my violin playing has finally convinced me I might need lessons.

GUILE

GUILE (GYE uhl) n trickery, duplicity, cunning • The wily con man used guile to part us from our money, but at least we ended up with this lovely snake oil. • I always admired his preference for guile over hard work; if I'd been able to get away with it I might have tried to accomplish things by trickery instead of effort as well. Guileless, as you might expect, means naive or free from guile. • His guileless answers convinced everyone of his complete innocence and he was acquitted of any wrongdoing. Beguile means to deceive by guile, or to charm. • She beguiled us all by batting her lashes, right before she picked our pockets. Another related word is gullible, which means able to be beguiled. A person who believes anything he or she is told would be known as a gullible person.

GUY

GUY (gye) n a rope or cord attached to something as a brace or guide • We were all nervous that the guy for the pulley would give way, but the platform stayed intact, so it must have been fine.

HALLOW

HALLOW (HAL oh) v to set apart as holy • The site for the new church was set aside and hallowed in a special ceremony. As an adjective, hallowed means consecrated, or highly venerated. • Abraham Lincoln remains one of the nation's most hallowed heroes. • Graceland is hallowed ground for Elvis's legions of fans.

HARANGUE

HARANGUE (huh RANG) v to deliver a loud, pompous speech or tirade • After having been harangued for hours about the superiority of his methods, we should be forgiven for laughing when his demonstration failed. A harangue is what you deliver when you are haranguing someone.

HARROW

HARROW (HAR oh) v to distress, create stress or torment • The sadistic professor loved to harrow his students with harrowing tales of the upcoming final exam that no student in the school's history had ever passed.

HEDONISM

HEDONISM (HEE dun izm) n devotion to pleasurable pursuits, especially to the pleasures of the senses • Spring break is popularly known as a festival of hedonism when thousands of college students gather for a week of debauchery in the sun. • He had to give up his hedonistic lifestyle once he had a full-time job; it was just too hard to get up in the morning after a long night of partying. Someone who embraces hedonism is called a hedonist. For an antonym to hedonist, see the entry for ascetic.

HEGEMONY

HEGEMONY (hi JEM uh nee) n the consistent dominance or influence of one group, state, or ideology over others • It has been argued that the United States has achieved global hegemony in the post-Cold War era. • Many people point to the growing power of multinational corporations as evidence of the hegemony of globalization and capitalism. • The company's hegemonic control over the market was threatened by the gains its competitors were making as well as by the changing economy.

HERETICAL

HERETICAL (huh RET i kul) adj violating accepted dogma or convention, unorthodox • Galileo was brought before the Inquisition because of his heretical agreement with Copernicus that the earth moved around the sun. • The once heretical notion that computers would become more than calculating machines or toys is now so obvious that it's hard to remember when we ever thought differently. A heresy is an idea that is heretical.

HIRSUTE

HIRSUTE (HUR soot) adj hairy, shaggy • If he hadn't been so hirsute, the werewolf might have escaped detection forever and settled down into a nice, quiet life in the suburbs. • My hirsute dog sheds life-size replicas of himself and still has more hair left over.

HOMILY

HOMILY (HAH muh lee) n a sermon or morally instructive lecture, a platitude • The subject of the minister's homilies ranged from the importance of compassion to the virtues of brushing one's teeth three times a day. • Spare me the homilies; I already know why I should do the right thing. Homiletics is the art of preaching. • She was famous for her homiletic skill; people came from all of the surrounding counties to hear her preach.

HUBRIS

HUBRIS (HYOO brus) n arrogant presumption or pride • Icarus was destroyed by the sun god, who melted the wax in Icarus's wings as punishment for his hubris in daring to fly so close to the sun. • The company president's hubris turned out to be his downfall when he ignored all of the warnings of the coming depression, thinking that he could predict the future on his own. Hubris is frequently used in describing classical and epic characters, such as humans who wish to be gods and kings who think they are infallible, but the word has just as many applications in the modern world.

HYPERBOLE

HYPERBOLE (hy PUR buh lee) n an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech • I should have realized she was using hyperbole when she promised me the moon and stars; that way I wouldn't have been disappointed when I only got the moon. Something or someone that uses hyperbole is hyperbolic. • His hyperbolic claims for what the company could produce next quarter made him seem unreliable, since everyone knew he was wildly exaggerating.

IDOLATROUS

IDOLATROUS (y DAHL uh trus) adj given to intense or excessive devotion to something • Jim's family realized his love of football was truly idolatrous when they discovered the Raiders shrine in his closet. Idolatry is the worship of idols and images or blind devotion to something.

IDYLL

IDYLL (Y dul) n a carefree, light-hearted pastoral or romantic episode or experience; a literary or musical piece describing such • The smell of the ocean always made me nostalgic for our summer idyll on the coast two years ago. • Theocritus is generally credited with originating the poetic form of the idyll, although it is not entirely clear whether he wrote all the bucolic poems we currently associate with him. Idyllic means simple or carefree. • Our once-idyllic house became a nightmare when the family of kazoo players moved in next door.

IGNOMINIOUS

IGNOMINIOUS (ig nuh MIN ee us) adj shameful, dishonorable, ignoble, undignified, disgraceful • It was an ignominious, though deserved, end to all his boasting when the wheels fell off his car halfway through the race. • The company president made a hasty and ignominious retreat from public life when it was discovered that she had been embezzling money for years. Ignominy is dishonor or humiliation.

IMBROGLIO

IMBROGLIO (im BROHL yo) n difficult or embarrassing situation • We could see a public relations imbroglio developing before our eyes when the food fight started in the senior citizens' home right as the mayor began his speech. • Clare tried to extricate herself from the imbroglio she started at the party by sneaking out the back door.

IMMINENT

IMMINENT (IM uh nunt) adj about to happen; impending • Alfred had a hunch that his luck was going to improve shortly and that good fortune was imminent; little did he know, though, that it would show up in the form of a pink poodle. • They say that a sound like a freight train can be a sign of a tornado's imminent approach. Don't confuse this with eminent, which means prominent or distinguished.

IMPASSIVE

IMPASSIVE (im PAS iv) adj revealing no emotion or sensibility • The guards at Buckingham Palace are required to be completely impassive; they can't show any emotion whatsoever. • The principal remained impassive in the face of our most impassioned pleas; even our tears didn't move him to leniency.

IMPECUNIOUS

IMPECUNIOUS (im pek YOON ee us) adj lacking funds; without money • The impecunious actor was so desperate for money that he had to sacrifice his artistic principles and work as a mime for a few months. • The worst thing about the impecunious life of a grad student might be the endless diet of ramen noodles.

IMPERIOUS

IMPERIOUS (im PEER ee us) adj commanding, masterful, arrogant, domineering, haughty • Her imperious manner was extremely annoying to her employees, who thought her arrogance was unfounded since she wasn't even that bright. • The diva dismissed us from her presence with an imperious wave of her hand.

IMPERTURBABLE

IMPERTURBABLE (im pur TUR buh bul) adj marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness • We were in awe of the teacher's ability to remain imperturbable while chaos erupted in the classroom; even with twenty kindergartners running amuck, she managed to stay calm. • Bo's usually imperturbable nature was put to the test when his roommate spilled cornflakes all over the couch and left without cleaning them up.

IMPETUOUS

IMPETUOUS (im PECH oo us) adj hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement • We regretted our impetuous decision to spend our vacation in Greenland when we realized we hadn't packed any warm clothing. • John's impetuous nature kept him from planning anything in advance, but somehow everything always seemed to work out in the end.

IMPLACABLE

IMPLACABLE (im PLAK uh bul) adj not capable of being appeased or significantly changed • Her anger over her partner's betrayal was implacable; nothing anyone said or did would appease her. • Because I have an implacable fear of dentists, I haven't been to see one in twenty years and now only have two teeth left.

IMPORTUNE

IMPORTUNE (im por TOON) v to ask incessantly, beg, nag • Jerry's constant importuning for time off worked in a way; he had plenty of time off once he was fired for nagging his boss about a vacation. Importunate means persistent in asking. • Leslie is an importunate borrower of clothing; I'm not sure she even owns any of her own clothes since she is always asking to borrow other people's stuff.

IMPUDENT

IMPUDENT (IM pyuh dunt) adj shamelessly bold; insolent; impertinent • John's impudent personality on stage enthralled his fans; unfortunately, it also alienated his fellow band members. The characteristic of being impudent is called impudence. • Adonia was frequently punished in school for her impudence.

IMPUGN

IMPUGN (im PYOON) v attack or assail verbally, censure, execrate, deny • Although the paper impugned his motives for resigning, claiming that he did it to hide his misdeeds, most people still believed he did it for virtuous reasons. • The candidate's attempt to impugn his opponent's voting record backfired when it merely brought to light his own poor attendance record.

IMPUNITY

IMPUNITY (im PYOON i tee) n immunity from punishment, penalty or harm • Barry the bully was able to terrorize the schoolyard with impunity because he was always able to look completely innocent whenever any authority figures were around. • It is only possible to lie on a bed of nails with impunity if the nails are close enough together that the force per unit area is not enough to break the skin; in other words, don't try this at home without a physicist handy.

IMPUTE

IMPUTE (im PYOOT) v to attribute to a cause or source, ascribe, assign as a characteristic • The mechanic imputed my car's failure to start to the absence of any gasoline in the tank. • My dance partner kindly imputed my fall to a slippery floor, when in reality my two left feet were the cause.

INALIENABLE

INALIENABLE (in AYL ee uh bul) adj cannot be transferred Generally, we hear this word with the word "rights," as in inalienable rights. • The Declaration of Independence states that man is endowed with certain inalienable rights; unfortunately, the author failed to specify whether those rights were also applicable to woman.

INCHOATE

INCHOATE (in KOH ut) adj in an initial stage, not fully formed • Drat, our plan for world domination is still inchoate; how will we finalize it before the deadline tomorrow? • It was amazing to realize that the inchoate blob in front of us would become a delicate vase when the glassblower was done. For a word with a similar definition, see nascent.

INCIPIENT

INCIPIENT (in SIP ee unt) adj beginning to come into being orto become apparent • I could sense the dull throbbing in my head that was the sign of an incipient headache; I knew it was only a matter of time before it had developed into a full-fledged migraine. • Marta rushed to stop the incipient unrest that began when the food and drink ran out at the party.

INDEFATIGABLE

INDEFATIGABLE (in di FAT i guh bul) adj not easily exhaustible, tireless, dogged • Her indefatigable good humor was legendary; she never seemed out of sorts no matter how annoying everyone around her was. • Although I tried to convince myself I was indefatigable, I started to suspect I would have to be carried the last few miles of the hike. • His indefatigability paid off when he won the dance contest after dancing for fourteen hours straight.

INDIFFERENT

INDIFFERENT (in DIF ur unt) adj having no interest or concern, apathetic; showing no bias or prejudice Indifferent is a multifunctional word. It can mean having no interest in something, but it can also mean having no bias, which should remind you of all that confusion around disinterested and uninterested. It can also mean not good or bad, not too much or too little, and neither right nor wrong. • Maria was indifferent about wine and could never understand all that sniffing, swirling and sipping people seemed to care so much about. • He may have been an indifferent musician, but he was a brilliant composer. • Her reputation as an indifferent judge made all sides trust her; it was her indifference that made the two parties agree to accept her judgment as final.

INDOLENT

INDOLENT (IN duh lunt) adj lazy, listless, torpid • Alex was so indolent that he hired other people to wash his hands for him. The noun from of indolent is indolence. • It seemed paradoxical that Anna so wished for a life of indolence that she worked very hard all the time to be able to afford it. For a synonym, see phlegmatic.

INELUCTABLE

INELUCTABLE (in i LUKT uh bul) adj certain, inevitable • George refused to accept the ineluctable reality of death, so he planned to have himself frozen. • The outcome of the game seemed ineluctable once the score was 156 to 14.

INERT

INERT (in URT) adj unmoving, lethargic, sluggish, not reactive chemically • Once it hits ninety degrees Fahrenheit and ninety percent humidity, I become completely inert; I can't even move at that point. • Helium and argon are two of the inert gases, which do not react with much of anything. • The bureaucracy had become effectively inert; everyone was so bogged down in paperwork that nothing ever moved through the system.

INGENUOUS

INGENUOUS (in JEN yoo us) adj artless, frank and candid, lacking in sophistication • His ingenuous question revealed how naive he was, but his ingenuousness was actually refreshing in this group of cynical, scheming old men. Disingenuous means lacking in candor, calculating, duplicitous. • I suspected that his sudden interest in my. research was disingenuous; he really just wanted an invitation to the party I was hosting. Be careful not to confuse ingenuous with ingenious, which means characterized by skill and imagination.

INHERENT

INHERENT (in HEER int) ad] ingrained within one's nature, intrinsic, firmly established, essential • His inherent skill at spatial relations reasoning was revealed when he solved the Rubik's cubeTM puzzle at the age of two. • Some people believe that self-interest is inherent in human nature; others argue that it is a learned characteristic. • It was inherent to the plot that the protagonist dies; without his death, the story would have made no sense. Inhere means to be inherent or innate to something. • The age-old conflict that inheres in the parent-child relationship as the child reaches adolescence was not going to be resolved today.

INNERVATE

INNERVATE (i NUR vayt) v to supply with nerves, energize Innervate is usually used to describe a physiological process, as in the fibers that innervate the facial muscles, but it can also be used metaphorically. • Innervated by our coach's pep talk, we were filled with energy for the upcoming game. Don't confuse this with enervate, which is also in this book. Their definitions and pronunciations are very different.

INNOCUOUS

INNOCUOUS (i NAHKyoo us) adj harmless; causing no damage • The poisonous-looking brew turned out to be innocuous; it didn't taste very good, but it didn't cause any harm. • At least her practical jokes are innocuous, even if they are annoying. If you associate this word with inoculate, which means to protect, good ear! They don't have the same root, but the association can help you remember the meaning of innocuous.

INSENSIBLE

INSENSIBLE (in SENS uh bul) adj unconscious, unresponsive, unaware, unaffected, numb • He lay insensible on the field after being hit in the head by the baseball. • I am not insensible of your suffering; I just don't care. • She was insensible to his entreaties, refusing to take him back no matter how much he pleaded. Note the subtle difference in the last two sentences: insensible of your suffering means unaware of it (i.e., "I know you're suffering, but in this case I just don't care.") and insensible to his entreaties means unresponsive to them.

INSIPID

INSIPID (in SIP ud) adj without taste or flavor, lacking in spirit, dull • This insipid stew is in desperate need of some hot sauce. • Henry's sense of humor was so insipid that he thought all knock-knock jokes were funny.

INSOUCIANT

INSOUCIANT (in SOO see unt) adj unconcerned, carefree, nonchalant • Her insouciant attitude toward her schoolwork meant that she rarely turned in her papers or bothered to study for a test. • Insouciance may be charming in a friend, but is often annoying in a co-worker if you end up doing his work for him.

INSULAR

INSULAR (IN suh lur) adj parochial, narrow-minded, like an island • The small fishing community had a very insular attitude toward outsiders, viewing them as strange and generally distrusting them. • The insularity of his upbringing was reflected in the narrow-mindedness of his views. The primary definition of insular means relating to an island, and insulate, meaning to set off in a detached position, comes from the same root.

INTRACTABLE

INTRACTABLE (in TRAK tuh bul) adj not easily managed or directed, stubborn, obstinate • He was the most intractable child I have ever met; nothing I tried would get him to brush his teeth or go to bed. • Poverty remains one of the most intractable problems of modem society.

INTRANSIGENT

INTRANSIGENT (in TRANS i junt) adj refusing to compromise • He was an intransigent supporter of the tax cut, refusing to compromise even the slightest bit. • Her intransigence in the face of all opposing arguments would almost have been impressive if it weren't so dam frustrating.

INTREPID

INTREPID (in THE pud) adj steadfast, courageous • The intrepid explorers continued on despite the harsh conditions. • Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen were intrepid journalists, daring to investigate under dangerous circumstances, so it was a good thing Superman was around to save them when they got into trouble.

INUNDATE

INUNDATE (IN un dayt) v to cover or overwhelm, to flood • Because the village sits in a basin, it is easily inundated when river levels rise and there is no escape route for the water. • Legend has it that the mail-order company was so inundated with orders in its early years that it occasionally burned order slips to get rid of them. Inundation is the noun form of inundate.

INURED

INURED (in OORD) adj accustomed to accepting something undesirable • I have become inured to waking up at 5 A.M.; I still don't like it, but at least I'm used to it. • Her co-workers were so inured to her sarcasm that they no longer took it personally.

INVEIGH

INVEIGH (in VAY) v to attack verbally, denounce, deprecate • The students inveighed bitterly against the new dress code, complaining that the orange shirts and red pants not only limited their freedom of expression but were also ugly. • Inveighing against the government's policies will do you no good if you don't bother to vote as well.

INVEIGLE

INVEIGLE (in VAY gul) v to obtain by deception or flattery • I can't believe she inveigled a ticket to the concert; I've been trying to get one for weeks. • Once I realized what he was up to, his attempts to inveigle me out of telling his girlfriend where he'd been were unsuccessful.

INVETERATE

INVETERATE (in VET ur ut) adj deep rooted, ingrained, habitual • Tim was such an inveterate liar that he lied even when he thought he was telling the truth. • Her inveterate preference for chocolate over vanilla ice cream had stayed the same for fifty years. Inherent is a close synonym for inveterate.

ITINERATE

ITINERATE (y TIN uh rut) v to travel from place to place • After years of itinerating, never staying in one place for more than a couple months, he finally settled down and bought a house. Itinerant is an adjective that means traveling from place to place. • The itinerant laborers followed the harvest from county to county.

citadel

(n.) a fortress that overlooks and protects a city; any strong or commanding place (e.g. "the citadel was well fortified and virtually impregnable to any form of attack") দুর্গ , ভরসাস্থল

calamity

an event resulting in great loss and misfortune (e.g. "after the calamity -- a tsunami -- in which the woman lost her husband and both sons, she withdrew into seclusion and mourned her loss") বিরাট দুর্ভাগ্য

ascendancy

controlling influence; domination (e.g. "A king has ascendancy over his people.") উত্থান , অভ্যুত্থান

disquiet

disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed (e.g. "I was disquieted when I realized that the house that I was living in was haunted")

stout

euphemisms for 'fat'; dependable; having rugged physical strength (e.g. "His stout exterior belied the shrewd man within.")

ingratiate

gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts (e.g. "the politician attempted to ingratiated himself with his constituency")

ineradicable

not able to be destroyed or rooted out (e.g. "it seems that corruption in government is ineradicable; it can't be completely removed")

forbear

not do something (e.g. "Bob decided to forbear having a fifth piece of chocolate cake")

lament

regret strongly (e.g. "the widow loudly lamented her husband's death")

ghastly

shockingly repellent; gruesomely indicative of death or the dead (e.g. "Louis told the most ghastly ghost stories by the campfire")

robust

strong and healthy (e.g. "the robust man looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger")

pathology

the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases (e.g. "a pathologist is a doctor who specializes in diseases")

adherent

someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another (e.g. "Hitler's adherents called themselves Nazis.") সংলগ্ন , অনুগত

ethereal

characterized by lightness and insubstantiality (e.g. "clouds could be considered ethereal--they are very light")

prurient

characterized by lust (e.g. "His prurient lifestyle is neither decent nor chaste.")

decorous

characterized by propriety and dignity and good taste in manners and conduct (e.g. "Hannah's dinner was decorous; it was very proper")

genteel

marked by refinement in taste and manners (e.g. "his facade of genteelness was merely a covering for his inner crassness")

GARNER

GARNER (GAHR nur) v to gather and save, store up, acquire • The ants garnered food for the winter while the cricket spent the whole summer playing. • Lester was the class clown, always playing practical jokes in an obvious attempt to garner attention.

GARRULOUS

GARRULOUS (GAR uh lus) adj pointlessly talkative, talking too much • It was easy to see how nervous Gary was by how much he was talking; he always gets garrulous when he is anxious. • My garrulous neighbor is very sweet, so I try not to act too impatient when she tells me yet another long meandering story.

GAUCHE

GAUCHE (gohsh) adj crude, awkward, tasteless • In some cultures it is considered gauche to belch loudly at the end of dinner; in others it is the height of courtesy. This word comes from a French word meaning left, because left-handedness used to be synonymous with clumsiness and awkwardness. These days, it would be gauche to make fun of someone for being left-handed!

precedent

an example that is used to justify similar occurrences at a later time (e.g. "one of the major considerations a judge must harbor when deciding a case is, 'is this precedented?' That is, 'has a case similar to this been judged before? If so, what was the verdict?'")

narcissism

an exceptional interest in and admiration for oneself (e.g. "this word originates from Greek mythology, with the character Narcissus, after whom the flower narcissus was named, according to the ancient Greeks. This man fell in love with himself")

coterie

an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose (e.g. "our coterie exists for no other reason but to prove to the world that the moon does indeed consist largely of green cheese")

reactionary

an extreme conservative; extremely conservative (e.g. "After the French Revolution, many reactionary leaders in other European countries attempted to make sure that the same thing didn't happen in their countries.")

transfix

pierce with a sharp stake or point; to render motionless, as with a fixed stare or by arousing terror or awe (e.g. "The animal was transfixed by the car's headlights.")

abash

cause to be embarrassed (e.g. "He was abashed after his date told him he was as ugly as a toad.") লজ্জা দেওয়া , অপ্রস্তুতে ফেলা

equitable

fair (e.g. "the buyers of the new house paid an equitable price for it")

revulsion

intense aversion (e.g. "I pulled back in revulsion at the sight of the creepy-looking spider.")

avert

turn away or aside (e.g. "I averted my gaze from the scene of destruction and ruin") চোখ, মন ইত্যাদি সরিয়ে নেওয়া , এড়ানো

insufferable

used of unacceptable behavior (e.g. "his insouciant behavior at the funeral was insufferable because at a funeral, people are supposed to act solemn, and his behavior was anything but solemn")

cohort

a group (e.g. "the rebel leader and his cohort besieged the fort") দল

myriad

a large indefinite number (e.g. "myriad bullets flew about the room as the police attempted to halt the bank robbery")

disconcert

cause to lose one's composure (e.g. "the presidential candidate felt disconcerted when he came in last in the polls")

vanquish

come out better in a competition, race, or conflict (e.g. "In the chess tournament, I utterly vanquished him.")

ludicrous

completely devoid of wisdom or good sense (e.g. "It would be ludicrous to believe that the moon is made of green cheese")

deplore

express strong disapproval of (e.g. "I deplore laziness")

bourgeois

a member of the middle class (e.g. "According to Karl Marx, someday the working class is going to overthrow the bourgeois in every country on earth.") মধ্যবিত্ত শ্রেণীর লোক

artisan

a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft (e.g. "the artisan tried to convince us to buy some of his wares")

sublime

inspiring awe (e.g. "the sunset was perfectly sublime")

exuberant

joyously unrestrained (e.g. "his exuberant attitude was appropriate, considering that he had just won the Nobel Prize")

postulate

maintain or assert (e.g. "Euclid, the Father of Geometry, built a system of geometry containing ten basic postulates")

sedentary

not involving motion(e.g. "His corpulence is probably a result of his sedentary lifestyle.")

gesticulate

show, express or direct through movement (e.g. "pantomimes do not speak; to communicate, they gesticulate")

malefactor

someone who has committed (or been legally convicted of) a crime (e.g. "The excellent police force of Timbuktu made life very difficult for the malefactors in the city.")

fuel

stimulate (e.g. "the discovery of new evidence fueled the debate")

inclement

(of weather of climate) physically severe (e.g. "Due to inclement weather, the flight was canceled.")

embody

(v.) to give form to; to incorporate, include; to personify (e.g. "the biblical figure of Satan embodies pure evil")

muse

reflect deeply on a subject; the source of an artist's inspiration (e.g. "He mused over the difference between cherry and lime Jello.")

homage

respectful deference (e.g. "I paid homage to the monarch of Timbuktu")

hoary

showing characteristics of age, especially having gray or white hair (e.g. "his hoary pet turtle was well over 22")

layman

someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person (e.g. "Although most physicists could probably understand this paper, I doubt that many laymen could.")

flaunt

the act of displaying something ostentatiously (e.g. "Darth Vader from 'Star Wars' flaunted his Force abilities")

sinister

threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments (e.g. "it seemed sinister that the ex-murderer, now out of jail, was stockpiling weapons of all kinds in his attic")

emanate

to come forth (e.g. "shock waves emanated from the epicenter of the earthquake")

introvert

(psychology) a person who tends to shrink from social contacts and to become preoccupied with their own thoughts (e.g. "Albert possesses a rather introverted personality; that is, he generally doesn't socialize well and is more concerned with his own thoughts that his surroundings")

adverse

(adj) unfavorable, negative; working against, hostile (e.g. "The adverse economic conditions caused our investments to lose money.") বিরোধী , পরিপন্থী , বিমুখ , প্রতিকূল , অসুবিধাজনক , ক্ষতিকর , বিপ্রতীপ

mores

(sociology) the conventions that embody the fundamental values of a group (e.g. "Mores in America in the 1600s were significantly different from those today; for an example of this, note the differences in lifestyle between the Puritans and modern Americans.")

subordinate

(adj.) lower in rank or position, secondary; (n.) one who is in a lower position or under the orders of someone else; (v.) to put in a lower or secondary position (e.g. "a sergeant in the army is subordinate to a major general")

askance

(used especially of glances) directed to one side with or as if with doubt or suspicion or envy (e.g. "the passers-by looked askance at Bob after he asked a pedestrian whether he was a Martian") তেরছা, তির্যগ্ভাবে, তির্যকভাবে, বক্রভাবে, অপাঙ্গে, আড়চোখে

awry

(adj., adv.) in a turned or twisted position or direction;not in the correct position(e.g. "The best laid plans have gone awry.") স্থানভ্রষ্ট হয়ে , লক্ষ্যভ্রষ্ট হওয়া A picture on a wall that is not hanging straight is an example of a picture that is awry. His damp hair was all awry.

bequest

(law) a gift of personal property by will (e.g. "The generous benefactor's bequest of $1,000,000 to the new university was greatly appreciated by the university.") উইলদ্বারা প্রদান , বংশধরের জন্য রাখিয়া যাত্তয়া left small bequests to all of her nieces and nephews

legacy

(law) a gift of personal property by will (e.g. "the man left his son a legacy of ten million dollars in gold")

injunction

(law) a judicial remedy issued in order to prohibit a party from doing or continuing to do a certain activity (e.g. "after he started calling his ex-girlfriend on the phone in excess of twenty times per day, he received a court injunction prohibiting him from calling her at all")

regimen

(medicine) a systematic plan for therapy (often including diet) (e.g. "According to the regimen instituted by the Kyoto Protocol, the US had to reduce its CO2 emissions by 7% by 2010 from its 1990 levels.")

attribute

(n.) a quality or characteristic belonging to or associated with someone or something; (v.) to assign to, credit with; to regard as caused by or resulting from (e.g. "the Olympic champion attributed his success to his excellent upbringing, as his family had encouraged him to develop his physical abilities") কোনো ব্যক্তি বা বস্তুর বিশেষ গুণ

embargo

(n.) an order forbidding the trade in or movement of commercial goods; any restraint or hindrance; (v.) to forbid to enter or leave port; to forbid trade with (e.g. "the United States has a limited trade embargo with Cuba; it is illegal to bring Cuban cigars into the country for this reason")

decree

(n.) an order having the force of law; (v.) to issue such an order; to command firmly or forcefully (e.g. "the king decreed that no one in the kingdom could eat anything other than spaghetti without his express written approval")

eminent

(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation (e.g. "Albert Einstein was eminent in the field of physics for many years")

discursive

(of e.g. speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects (e.g. "I considered the student's essay to be poor because a good portion of the essay strayed from the main point of the essay; it was discursive")

nomadic

(of groups of people) tending to travel and change settlements frequently (e.g. "I lived a nomadic lifestyle; I didn't have a fixed abode.")

avail

(v.) to be of use or benefit to; to make use of; to take advantage of; to profit or benefit; (n.) use, benefit, or value (e.g. "the extra fortifications for the castle which were built in preparation of the coming attack were of no avail to the castle members, for the enemy bypassed them completely by digging a tunnel under them") কাজে লাগা , কার্যকরী হওয়া , সহায়ক হওয়া , লাভজনক হওয়া , সাহায্য করা , উপকার করা

consolidate

(v.) to combine, unite; to make solid or firm (e.g. "after the rebels captured the country, they consolidated their rule by killing all people who had been associated with the previous regime") একত্র করা, জমাট বাঁধা, একীভূত করা, দৃঢ় করা, সংকুচিত করা, কঠিন করা, দৃঢ় হওয়া, জমে যাওয়া, জমে যাওয়া, মজবুত করা

denounce

(v.) to condemn openly; to accuse formally (e.g. "when a member of the 'Moon is Made of Green Cheese Society' admitted that the moon is probably not made of cheese, the president of the society condemned him for believing absurd things")

disclaim

(v.) to deny interest in or connection with; to give up all claim to (e.g. "he disclaimed all right to the first piece of apple pie")

accede

to agree or express agreement (e.g. "after I laid out my proposal, the other members of the board acceded that it was indeed an excellent idea") সম্মত হওয়া , অঙ্গীভূত হওয়া

benighted

unenlightened (e.g. "all those benighted people in the Middle Ages didn't even know what uranium was!")অজ্ঞানতিমিরে আচ্ছন্ন; মুর্খ , জ্ঞানহীন

ANOMALY

ANOMALY (uh NAH muh lee) n deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality • Pickles for sale in a tire store would be an anomaly; tires for sale in a pickle store would be equally weird. • The anomalous results the scientist received the third time she ran the experiment made her question her initial hypothesis, since she couldn't find any other reason for the deviation from her prior results.

ANTAGONIZE

ANTAGONIZE (an TAG uh nyz) v to irritate or cause hostility • Alonzo constantly antagonized his younger sister by stealing her lunch money and refusing to give it back. Antagonize has the Greek root agon, which means contest. Agony has the same root. The hero's primary rival or adversary in a play is called the antagonist. The hero, on the other hand, is called the protagonist.

ADMONISH

ADMONISH (ad MAH nish) v to reprove; to express warning or disapproval • How many times has your roommate admonished you to put the toilet seat down? An admonition is a warning or a scolding and admonitory means expressing warning or disapproval. • He tried to admonish us not to open the secret passageway, but his admonition fell on deaf ears. Man, were we sorry we hadn't listened to him when all the monsters came rushing out! • Dad's admonitory tone made us feel guilty about ruining our appetites with pre-dinner cookies.

conviction

A fixed or strong belief (e.g. "Jeremy held the conviction that the moon was made of green cheese; his conviction was incorrect") অপরাধী সাব্যস্ত হওয়া , দণ্ডাজ্ঞা , দৃঢ় বিশ্বাস

ADROIT

ADROIT (uh DROYT) adj adept, dexterous • Karl had always been an adroit manipulator; even when he was a kid he could get people to do what he wanted. • Although her adroit handling of the situation minimized the damage, nothing could really save the conference after the room flooded. • Since he is ambidextrous, he is equally adroit at shooting marbles with either hand. Maladroit means clumsy or bungling. • Jerry Lewis was able to make a career out of playing maladroit characters.

ADULATION

ADULATION (a ju LAY shun) n excessive praise; intense adoration • Leif Garrett was the object of much adolescent adulation. • Samuel had taken his little brother's adulation for granted until his brother grew four inches taller and was no longer as easily impressed.

expedient

A means to an end; advantageous, useful (e.g. "John wanted all of Mary's money; he deemed that marrying her would be an expedient to acquiring the money")

ANODYNE

ANODYNE (AN uh dyn) adj soothing • Don't you agree that nothing is quite so anodyne as a long soak in a bubble bath? • I've also found that its anodyne effect can be enhanced by some good music and a glass of wine. Anodyne can also be a noun, spelled the same way, and meaning something that assuages or allays pain, or comforts. • After such a hectic week, Casey very much looked forward to the anodyne of a relaxing weekend of camping at the lake. For words with similar meanings, see emollient and mollify.

ACUMEN

ACUMEN (AK u men) n quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight • The media often comments on the CEO's business acumen, remarking on his company's financial successes, but I think his fashion sense is much more interesting. • Her acumen in anticipating her opponent's strategy is legendary; it's what makes her so hard to beat. If you think about it, you probably know several words with acu in them that mean "sharp." Acute is frequently used to describe sharp pain and sharp angles (less than 90 degrees). People with good acumen are often described as being sharp, too! That's because these words come from the Latin root acus, which means needle.

ASSUAGE

ASSUAGE (uh SWAYJ) v to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify • Convincing her that it was all the rage in Paris helped assuage Christine's fears about painting her walls chartreuse. • Ken was able to assuage the pain of his headache by lying in a dark room with a damp cloth over his eyes. Assuage is used to describe the lessening or easing of things that cause pain or distress, so you don't assuage happiness or good humor (unless they're causing you pain in some way).

apocalypse

An event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale; also: the end of the world as given by Revelation from the Christian Bible (e.g. "Although people have claimed for years that someday all dead people will rise up from their graves and there will be a zombie apocalypse, I don't believe that it will happen anytime soon.") রহস্যদঘাটন , রহস্যউন্মোচন , আবরণ উন্মোচন , অপারবণ , অনাবৃতকরণ , অলৌকিক-উন্মোচন

BEDIZEN

BEDIZEN (bi DY zun) v to adorn, especially in a cheap, showy manner; festoon, caparison • The speakeasy was bedizened with every manner of tawdry decoration. • Sophie the cow came wandering home after the festival, bedizened with a wreath of flowers over each horn and somewhat the worse for wear.

BOMBASTIC

BOMBASTIC (bahm BAS tik) ad] pompous; grandiloquent • The self-important leader's speech was so bombastic that even his most loyal followers were rolling their eyes, and no one else could even figure out what he was talking about. Bombast is self-important or pompous writing or speech. • His books were always so filled with bombast that they were almost impossible to read; it sounded as if he had swallowed a thesaurus whole.

BOOR

BOOR (boor) n a rude or insensitive person; lout; yokel • I have learned never to take a boor to dine with royalty; last time we had tea with the Queen of England, my boorish boyfriend put his feet on the table! • Although she was usually very sweet and considerate, she became downright boorish when she was drunk.

BROACH

BROACH (brohch) v bring up, announce, begin to talk about • To broach the subject of her truly hideous brooch would have been impolitic. There's no way I could have managed to say anything nice about it.

BROOK

BROOK (bruk) v to tolerate, endure, countenance • Our drill sergeant made it very clear she would brook no insubordination; even any quiet grumbling would be grounds for endless pushups. • The conductor refused to brook any more delay and ordered those without tickets off the train immediately.

BURGEON

BURGEON (BUR jun) v to grow rapidly or flourish • When the wildflowers burgeon in April and May we know that spring has truly arrived. • The burgeoning population transformed the town into a bustling metropolis.

CHAUVINIST

CHAUVINIST (SHOH vuh nist) n one blindly devoted to a group of which one is a member • She was such a party chauvinist; her blind devotion made her refuse to acknowledge the changes underway that would lead to the party's downfall. • His chauvinism for Dutch soccer led him to paint everything he owned, including his car, orange. A male chauvinist believes in the inferiority of women to men. This term is often followed by the word pig.

IMMUTABLE

IMMUTABLE (im Y00 tuh bul) adj not capable of change • Her position on the matter was immutable; no reasoning could convince her that Elvis was not alive and well and working at the car wash down the street. Gravity is an immutable force—what goes up must come down.

CONTENTIOUS

CONTENTIOUS (kun TEN shus) adj argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement • Sometimes Lydia's contentious nature really drove me crazy; it seemed as if she argued with everything I said simply out of habit or some sort of strange pleasure. • The judges' contentious decision of the title bout led some to claim that undue influence had been exerted in deciding the outcome of the fight.

CONTIGUOUS

CONTIGUOUS (kun TIG yoo us) adj sharing a border; touching; adjacent • The contiguous United States include all the states except Hawaii and Alaska, since they are the only ones that don't share at least one border with another state. • The kitchen and dining room in our house are contiguous, making it easier to carry food and plates from one to the other.

CRAVEN

CRAVEN (KRAY vun) adj contemptibly fainthearted, pusillanimous, lacking any courage • His craven cowardice in refusing to admit his mistake meant that a completely innocent person was punished. • Steve lived in craven fear of being found out as a fraud.

DISSOLUTION

DISSOLUTION (dis uh LOU shun) n disintegration, looseness in morals • The dissolution of the warlord's power left a power vacuum in its wake that many minor chieftains competed to fill. • The company would be threatened with dissolution if it were judged to be operating as a monopoly. • Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, shows all the consequences of the protagonist's dissolution as a result of his excessive vanity. The adjective dissolute means licentious, libertine. • His dissolute indulgence in every form of hedonism horrified his morally conservative colleagues. For related words see libertine and hedonism.

DISTRAIT

DISTRAIT (dis TRAY) v distracted; absent-minded, especially due to anxiety • When he kept forgetting what he was talking about during dinner, it became clear that he was distrait, and was no doubt preoccupied with the meeting planned for the next day. Be careful not to confuse this with the somewhat similar distraught, which means extremely agitated with emotion.

ENIGMATIC

ENIGMATIC (en ig MAT ik) adj mysterious, obscure, difficult to understand • The only clue to the famous economist's disappearance was an enigmatic message left on his desk that said "gone home"; it took hours for anyone to realize that it meant nothing more mysterious than that she had gone home to feed the dog. • Some archaeologists speculate that the enigmatic markings on the cave wall may be the earliest known human representations of religious worship. • Enigma is the noun form of enigmatic and means a mystery or puzzle.

EXEMPLAR

EXEMPLAR (ig ZEM plar) n typical or standard specimen; paradigm, model • We were excited to find the perfect exemplar of the species of beetle we had studied in school; it conformed to the description in the guidebook in every way. • He was the exemplar of success; if you looked up "successful" in the dictionary, you would probably find his picture next to the definition. Exemplary means worthy of imitation, so an exemplar can be exemplary, but doesn't have to be.

FALLOW

FALLOW (FAL oh) adj untitled, inactive, dormant • The farmer hoped that leaving the field fallow for a season would mean that next year he could grow a bumper crop of Brussels sprouts. • Joe's experiment in applying agricultural principles to self-help was unsuccessful; it turns out that a mind left fallow for two months is not rejuvenated the way soil is.

FANATICAL

FANATICAL (fuh NAT ik ul) adj zealous; single-mindedly obsessed with one thing • Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch tells the story of a true fanatic: a man so obsessed with his favorite team that major life events have to be scheduled around its games. Fanatic originated from the Latin word for temple, because possession by a god or demon could cause someone to behave fanatically. Fanatic is also the source of a very common word in today's speech: fan.

HACKNEYED

HACKNEYED (HAK need) adj rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage • Every hackneyed phrase began as something other than a cliche; it only ended up on the greeting card circuit because enough people repeated it over and over. • Despite the often hackneyed writing, some pulp fiction can still be fun to read. Want to insult a writer? Then call her a hack, which is a writer for hire (and often carries the connotation of being worn out). The word comes from horses that were hired out to drive hackney carriages, or taxicabs.

HALCYON

HALCYON (HAL see un) adj calm and peaceful, prosperous • I always hated it when the halcyon days of summer were interrupted by the start of school in the fall. The halcyon was a legendary bird that was thought to be able to calm the waves so that it could nest on the sea.

HERMETIC

HERMETIC (hur MET ik) adj airtight, impervious to outside influence • The tomb's hermetic seal allowed its contents to be perfectly preserved for thousands of years. • The hermit's hermetic existence in a cave kept him from hearing any news of the outside world. • We discovered that the jar had not been hermetically sealed when we finally identified it as the source of the nasty smell in the cupboard. Don't confuse this with hermeneutic, which means explanatory or interpretive.

HETERODOX

HETERODOX (HET ur uh dahks) adj unorthodox, heretical, iconoclastic • Einstein's heterodox theories changed our fundamental understanding of time and space forever. • The designer's heterodox assertion that it is perfectly fine to wear white after Labor Day shocked the fashion world. A heterodoxy is an idea that departs from what is accepted.

ICONOCLAST

ICONOCLAST (y KAHN uh klast) n one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions • Frank always insisted on being the iconoclast; whenever everyone else agreed to "up," he would argue for "down." • In a sense, all great innovators are iconoclasts who challenge the prevailing assumptions of the day. Iconoclastic means attacking cherished beliefs, heretical. • Jill's iconoclastic attitude shocked everyone when she made an impassioned argument to the class in support of the restoration of the British monarchy's rule over America.

INVIDIOUS

INVIDIOUS (in VID ee us) adj tending to arouse envy or ill will in others • The promotion was important to Sveri s career; however, it meant that for a while, he was in the invidious position of supervising his former coworkers. When invidious is used to describe a distinction or comparison, it means discriminatory. • It was invidious to give preferential treatment to one group of graduate students over the other, but no one was likely to question the tenured professor.

MERETRICIOUS

MERETRICIOUS (mer uh TRI shus) ad] tawdry, pretentious, attractive but false, showy, having to do with prostitution • His meretricious argument had all the false allure of a low-rent Vegas nightclub: showy on the outside, but seedy and desperate on the inside.

JEJUNE

JEJUNE (ii JYOON) ad] vapid, uninteresting; childish, immature; lacking nutrition • The jejune lecture on various ways to wash clothes had us half-asleep after ten minutes. • His jejune response to our questions revealed how young he was despite his apparent age. • After surviving on a jejune diet of saltines and ginger ale during my illness, I was ready for a more nutritious meal.

JIBE

JIBE (jyb) v to agree, to be in accord • Since their accounts of the evening's events didn't jibe, we knew at least one of them wasn't telling the full truth. • I was relieved to find that my account balance jibed with my calculations so that I didn't bounce a check.

LACHRYMOSE

LACHRYMOSE (LAK ri mohs) adj causing tears, tearful, showing sorrow • His lachrymose apology didn't move me; he was going to have to do a lot more than shed a few tears before I was ready to forgive him. • Beth's lachrymose portrayal of the heroine didn't work very well since the play was supposed to be a comedy.

LUMINOUS

LUMINOUS (L00 muh nus) adj characterized by brightness and the emission of light, enlightened, clear • The luminous stars and full moon made it as bright as if it were the middle of the day. • It was amazing that he could write such luminous prose when his speech was so confusing and thoughtless. Many words having to do with light have the same root, such as illuminate and even luster. Just remember Lumiere, the candle from the animated Beauty and the Beast, and you have your word association!

MERCURIAL

MERCURIAL (mur KYOOR ee ul) adj characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood • The mercurial weather went from sunshine to hail and back in less than an hour. • Mercutio from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example of a mercurial personality; his moods flit from one extreme to the other in the short time he is on stage. Things that change rapidly or move quickly are often named after the Greek god Mercury. The metal used in thermometers and the closest planet to the sun are prime examples.

MILK

MILK (milk) v to exploit, to squeeze every last ounce of • I milked my sprained ankle for as much sympathy as I could; pretty soon I had people cooking me dinner and cleaning my house. • My big plans for milking my parents' absence for all the fun I could get out of it were thwarted when they returned home before the party even started.

MOROSE

MOROSE (muh ROHS) adj sad, sullen, melancholy • I knew from the morose expression on his face that it would be a bad idea to ask Kent how he did in the competition. • Although it is easy to be morose during the long, cold, wet, gloomy winter in Seattle, it is much more difficult to be sad during the summer when it is sunny and everyone else is happy.

MULTIFACETED

MULTIFACETED (mul ty FAS it id) adj having many aspects • It seemed at first to be an open-and-shut robbery case, but soon detectives uncovered so many twists and turns that it seems as multifaceted as a dodecahedron. Literally, multifaceted means having many facets or faces, like a diamond. Figuratively, it can mean versatile.

MULTIFARIOUS

MULTIFARIOUS (mul tuh FER ee us) adj varied, motley, greatly diversified • The objects of his multifarious crushes ranged from Katherine Hepburn to the cashier at the grocery store. • I love to sit and watch the multifarious activity at any train station—the variety of people and places they are going is endlessly fascinating.

MUNDANE

MUNDANE (mun DAYN) adj of the world, typical of or concerned with the ordinary • Todd was always complaining that he shouldn't have to deal with all the mundane details of life, because he was going to be a famous rock star very soon. • Some people may prefer the lofty philosophical questions about angels dancing on the heads of pins, but I'm more concerned with the mundane questions, like where are we going to eat lunch?

OBFUSCATE

OBFUSCATE (AHB fus cayt) v to deliberately obscure, to make confusing • He tried to obfuscate the issue behind a lot of big words and numbers, but it was obvious that the company was in serious financial straits. • Magic tricks are based on the art of obfuscation; making an audience believe that it sees something other than what is actually occurring. An obfuscation is something that causes confusion. • Emiko was a genius at removing obfuscations and drilling right into the truth of any issue.

PAUCITY

PAUCITY (PAH suh tee) adj scarcity, a lacking of • Carl was very self-conscious about the paucity of hair on his head, so he always wore a hat to cover his large bald spot. • Because he hadn't done laundry in four months, Paul was confronted with a serious paucity of clean socks. • Citing a paucity of admissible evidence, the judge dismissed the case.

PROPITIOUS

PROPITIOUS (proh PI shus) adj auspicious, favorable • They took the clearing of the sky as a propitious omen that the storm was passing.

RETICENT

RETICENT (RET uh sunt) adj quiet, reserved, reluctant to express thoughts and feelings • She was reticent about the party, but we suspected she had had more fun than she was letting on. • The department head was reticent about his plans for filling the new position, giving no clues as to whom he planned to promote.

QUAIL

QUAIL (kwayl) v to shrink back in fear, lose courage • The puppy quailed at the angry tone in Alicia's voice and put his tail between his legs. • I quailed at the thought of jumping out of a plane as soon as I looked down, which was probably a little late to be having second thoughts.

QUALIFY

QUALIFY (KWAH Ii fy) v to limit • Although she was careful to qualify any claims she made about the implications of her discovery, it was clear her research signaled a major breakthrough in the search for a cure. • He qualified the harshness of his criticism by smiling warmly at the students as he delivered it.

REVERENT

REVERENT (RE vur unt) adj marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect • As much as she appreciated the compliment, the teacher was a little freaked out by her students' reverent attitude toward her, especially when they started wearing robes and calling her their high priestess. • A moment of reverent silence accompanied the unveiling of the magnificent sculpture. Reverence is a strong feeling of awe or respect, and irreverence is the lack thereof.

RHETORIC

RHETORIC (RET or ik) n the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion • His study of rhetoric made him a powerful public speaker, able to shape his audience's emotions with his words. Rhetoric can also have a negative connotation, meaning pretentious or insincere language. • I knew his offer of friendship was mere rhetoric, since I'd already been told what he had said behind my back. Rhetorical means used for persuasive effect, and a rhetorical question is one that is used to create an effect and not to get a real answer.

RISIBLE

RISIBLE (RYZ uh bul) adj hilarious, provoking laughter • The mating horses created a risible sight for Rita, who had never been to a farm before. Though it is a less common usage, risible can also be used to describe people who are inclined to be amused. • Rita herself, though, is a fairly risible individual; the song "I Love to Laugh" could have been written just for her.

SALIENT

SALIENT (SAYL yunt) adj prominent, protruding, conspicuous, highly relevant • The salient fact that I had failed to notice at first was that my ride had left me stranded at the club with no way to get home. • The salient root sticking several inches out of the ground caught my foot and caused me to fall unceremoniously on my butt.

SALUBRIOUS

SALUBRIOUS (suh L00B ree us) adj promoting health or well-being • Carrots are salubrious for your eyes, since they contain a lot of vitamin A. • His was not the most salubrious of lifestyles, since he lived on donuts and two hours of sleep a night.

SALUTARY

SALUTARY (SAL yoo ter ee) adj remedial, wholesome, causing improvement • Paul was dismayed to hear the teacher say that she thought summer school would be salutary for his math skills. • The physical therapy she had undergone was having a salutary effect on her knees; she could almost walk without discomfort now.

SOPORIFIC

SOPORIFIC (sahp uh RIF ik) adj causing drowsiness, tending to induce sleep • The economics professor's lectures were amazingly soporific; five minutes listening to him would cure any case of insomnia. Soporific can also be used as a noun. • She hoped a glass of warm milk would be a sufficient soporific to get her daughter to go to sleep at long last.

STRIATED

STRIATED (STRY ayt id) adj striped, grooved, or banded • Our attempt to make a cake with striated frosting to look like a beach ball wasn't very successful; all the bands of color ran together until it was just one big blob. • It was initially a bit strange to drive over the grooves on the roads where the asphalt had been striated to provide better traction when it rained. Striations are the bands themselves.

STRUT

STRUT (strut) n a structural support used to brace a framework • When one of the struts supporting the wing of the old seaplane broke, we thought we were going to be swimming home. • When the struts on our car started to wear, we could feel every tiny bump on the road. Strut can also be used as a verb to mean brace or support.

STYMIE

STYMIE (STY mee) v to block, thwart • Rodney planned to stymie Jake's chances of winning the cooking contest by switching the salt and sugar when he wasn't looking. • His plans to become a professional race car driver were stymied when he failed his driving test for the third time.

SUBPOENA

SUBPOENA (suh PEE nuh) n a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony • You could have knocked me over with a feather when my next-door neighbor, the sweet little old grandmother, was served with a subpoena to appear in a federal racketeering case. Subpoena can also be used as a verb. • The prosecutor subpoenaed the kingpin's hairdresser to testify before the grand jury.

SUPERFLUOUS

SUPERFLUOUS (soo PUR floo us) adj exceeding what is sufficient or necessary • The admonition only to eat one of the cupcakes was superfluous; no one would have wanted a second. • Tim and Shane's new plan for saving money was to stop any superfluous spending, but they quickly realized that everything they spent money on was necessary.

TENACITY

TENACITY (ten A sit ee) n the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued • His tenacity in seeking public office was remarkable; he sought election fifteen different times and even though he never won, he never gave up. Tenacious means stubborn, refusing to give up or let go of something. • She was tenacious in her refusal to sell her house to the developers, even when they alternately tried to bribe and threaten her.

TENDENTIOUS

TENDENTIOUS (ten DEN shus) ad] biased, showing marked tendencies • It was difficult to determine what was objective fact and what when tendentious opinion, because all the research published thus far had been paid for by one side or the other. • Although it was clearly a tendentious account, I found it very informative, though that may have been because I happened to agree with the author.

TORRID

TORRID (TOR id) adj scorching, ardent, passionate, hurried • Chris was so engrossed in the torrid love affair unfolding in the novel that he didn't even notice that he had missed his bus stop. • Everyone escaped the torrid heat of mid-afternoon by taking a siesta. Perhaps not surprisingly, torrid comes from a Latin word meaning burn. So, however, does torrent, maybe because a roaring torrent looks like its boiling or because a torrent of words can burn you.

TORTUOUS

TORTUOUS (TORT yoo us) adj winding, twisting, excessively complicated • It was unsafe to drive faster than ten miles an hour on the tortuous road down the mountain because the turns were so sharp, so most people chose to walk or bicycle down instead. • Brendan launched into an argument so tortuous in its reasoning that he hoped no one would be able to follow it and realize that Brendan had no idea what he was talking about. Be careful not to mix this one up with torturous, which means relating to or causing torture.

TOUT

TOUT (towt) v to publicly praise or promote • When the beautiful model went on television touting the health benefits of pickle juice, pickle sales quadrupled overnight. • In the past, many ingredients were touted as beneficial that later turned out to be at best ineffective and at worst, toxic.

TRACTABLE

TRACTABLE (TRAK tuh bul) adj docile, obedient, easily led • The magician was looking for a tractable young assistant who would be willing to follow directions such as "get in the box so I can saw you in half." • The babysitter had thought the children were models of tractability, until she discovered they were just very good at hiding their disobedience. Intractable means unruly.

motif

a design that consists of recurring shapes or colors; a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work; a theme that is elaborated on in a piece of music (e.g. "The central motif of this quizlet set is that all high-schoolers should learn SAT vocabulary.")

concede

To admit as true; to yield, submit (e.g. "my opponent in the argument finally conceded the fact that the moon is not made of green cheese") মেনে নেওয়া , স্বীকার করা , মঞ্জুর করা , খেলা বা প্রতিযোগিতায় হার মেনে নেওয়া

cleave

To cut or split open; to cling to (e.g. "using his ax, the man cleaved the piece of wood in two") ভেঙে ফেলা , কেটে ফেলা , বিদারিত করা

USURY

USURY (Y00 zhuh ree) n charging an exorbitant or illegal rate of interest • Hannah, whenever she got her credit card statements, railed against what she claimed was usury on the part of the banks to anyone who would listen. Quaint as it may seem now, usury used to mean charging interest for a loan, period, and it has been forbidden by law in many religions and cultures. Now that charging interest is a common business practice, its meaning has changed to that of charging an exorbitant rate.

extrapolate

To infer or estimate by extending or projecting known information (e.g. "by looking at the past and present economic situations, the economist was able to extrapolate and create an economic forecast for the next year")

VARIEGATED

VARIEGATED (VAYR ee uh gayt ed) adj multicolored, characterized by a variety of patches of different color • The variegated fields of wildflowers in the springtime seemed like they contained every color we'd ever seen. • His variegated coat, with all its different patches of color, made him easy to spot in a crowd.

implement

To put into action; execute (e.g. "the city council had refused to implement Jane Doe's plan, because it had cost too much money")

surrogate

a person appointed to represent or act on behalf of others (e.g. "the surrogate computer-repairman was only at the computer-repair shop that day because the normal computer-repairman was sick")

UNDULATE

UNDULATE (UN dyoo layt) v to move in wavelike fashion, fluctuate • The small snake undulated over the twigs in the yard, seeming to flow over them in a way that was unlike the movement of any other animal. Undulations are the motions something makes when it undulates. • The audience was hypnotized by the belly dancer's undulations.

UNFEIGNED

UNFEIGNED (un FAYND) adj genuine, not false or hypocritical • Constance's surprise when everyone jumped out and said "happy birthday" seemed completely unfeigned, which was amazing since I thought at least three people had inadvertently told her about the surprise party. • Her unfeigned warmth as she welcomed us into her home made me feel immediately at ease.

VAUNT

VAUNT (vahnt) v to brag or boast • Fred has a tendency to vaunt his own achievements, even though his friends remind him that it is often more effective to wait for other people to point out when one has done a good job. • The new model, much vaunted before its release by both the reviewers and the manufacturer, turned out to be a total dud.

WAVER

WAVER (WAY vur) v to move to and fro, to sway; to be unsettled in opinion • Ted wavered over whether or not to report the ten thousand dollars he found on the park bench to the police, but then he started thinking about who might come looking for it and decided to turn it in to the authorities. • Enid never wavered in her conviction that her pet goose would lay golden eggs, despite its repeated failures to do so.

WEND

WEND (wend) v to go, proceed, walk • We wended our way through the market, buying vegetables for dinner. • As Fritz wended his long way home from work, he thought again about moving closer to town.

WHET

WHET (wet) n to sharpen or stimulate • The appetizers were intended to whet our hunger, but they were so high in fat that they completely satiated any appetite I had. Whet is derived from a Germanic word meaning sharp. In literature, you may see whet used as a noun (meaning something that has the effect of whetting), but that meaning is not prevalent in common speech today.

forebear

a person from whom one are descended (e.g. "Jim is very interested in his ancestry; he is certain that one of his forebears was Albert Einstein")

visionary

a person given to fanciful speculations and enthusiasms with little regard for what is actually possible (e.g. "Don Quixote, from 'Don Quixote', by Cervantes, was a visionary; also, he was slightly mad")

rapture

a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion; a state of elated bliss (e.g. "His rapture at winning the prestigious award was not quelled by the fact that he had not earned it honestly.")

cache

a concealed store of goods or valuables (e.g. "his cache of food was stored in his basement") খাদ্যাদির গুপ্ত ভাণ্ডার (N), গুপ্ত ভাণ্ডারে লুকাইয়া রাখা (V)

egotist

a conceited and self-centered person (e.g. "William, mentioned in the last example, was an egotist")

abstract

a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance (e.g. "Surprisingly, John Smith's theory, which was based in abstract principles such as Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation, failed to explain various phenomena in the real world.") বস্তুনিরপেক্ষ , অমূর্ত , বিমূর্ত

idiosyncrasy

a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual (e.g. "one of Melissa's idiosyncrasies was that she would refuse to touch anything which was round")

incendiary

a bomb that is designed to start fires; capable of catching fire spontaneously or causing fires or burning readily; arousing to action or rebellion; involving deliberate burning of property (e.g. "the newcomer's incendiary remarks about the condition of the current fiscal policy of the country alienated him from everyone else in the room")

coup

a brilliant and notable success (e.g. "Brock winning the math contest was a real coup, because he was never particularly good at math.") আকস্মিক অভ্যুত্থান

affliction

a cause of great suffering and distress (e.g. "in 'Anne of Green Gables', Anne Shirley, the protagonist, states that her lifelong affliction is the fact that she has red hair") যন্ত্রণা , দুর্দশা

genesis

a coming into being (e.g. "the genesis of modern culture could be said to have been the French court at Versailles, under Louis XIV")

adage

a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people (e.g. "'a penny saved is a penny earned' is an adage attributed to Benjamin Franklin") প্রবাদবাক্য , প্রবচন

continuum

a continuous nonspatial whole or extent or succession in which no part or portion is distinct of distinguishable from adjacent parts (e.g. "Einstein came to the conclusion that time and space should not be viewed as separate and distinct from each other, but as components of a unified continuum")

intrigue

a crafty and involved plot to achieve your (usually sinister) ends (e.g. "When the emperor found out about the intrigue among his chief nobles seeking to dethrone him, he had them all beheaded.")

blight

a disease that causes plants to wither and die; a condition of disease or ruin; (v.) to destroy, ruin (e.g. "the blight of the cotton crops that year caused the price of cotton to skyrocket.") গাছপালার রোগ , রহস্যময় অশুভ প্রভাব the city's spreading urban blight

repose

a disposition free from stress or emotion; the absence of mental stress or anxiety; freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility) (e.g. "Although I could not manage to appear to be in a disposition of repose -- that is, I didn't look reposed -- I was able to at least appear resigned.")

shibboleth

a favorite saying of a sect or political group; a manner of speaking that is distinctive of a particular group of people (e.g. "The word 'shibboleth' has an interesting etymology: in ancient Israel, the word 'shibboleth' was the shibboleth of certain guards; to pass them, you had to pronounce 'shibboleth' correctly; if you couldn't, they killed you.")

rancor

a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will (e.g. "the rancor I felt at the other man after he punched me in the nose passed all bounds")

jubilation

a feeling of extreme joy (e.g. "His feeling of jubilation at winning the lottery did not entirely cease even after his second cousin duped him out of half of his winnings.")

pseudonym

a fictitious name used when the person performs a particular social role (e.g. "It is thought by some that 'Lewis Carroll,' the name of the person who wrote 'Alice in Wonderland', is only a pseudonym -- that is, it's not his real name.")

patina

a fine coating of oxide on the surface of a metal (e.g. "Examine the patina on the surface of this silver lampstand; the object is obviously many years old.")

duplicity

a fraudulent or duplicitous representation (e.g. "the interpreter for the two people had great duplicity: he would say to each person that the other had said something which, in fact, the other had truly not said")

hiatus

a gap, opening, break (e.g. "schoolchildren are given a hiatus from their studies around Christmastime")

wane

a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number) (e.g. "His interest in the subject started to wane as the speaker droned on and on and generally made the topic seem extremely dull.")

conservatory

a greenhouse or place where plants are raised; a school for music and art (e.g. "the conservatory has plants of all kinds, from the common to the exotic") স্পর্শকাতর গাছপালা রক্ষা করার কাচঘর , সংগীত শিক্ষালয়

clone

a group of genetically identical cells or organisms derived from a single cell or individual by some kind of asexual reproduction, an unauthorized copy or imitation, a person who is almost identical to another, make multiple identical copies of (e.g. "Jacob almost seems to be a clone of Marcus; admittedly, they are identical twins, so technically they truly are clones, but I meant that their personalities seem very similar")

archipelago

a group of many islands in a large body of water (e.g. "the Philippine Islands compose an archipelago") দ্বীপপুঞ্জ , দ্বীপবহুল সমুদ্র

genre

a kind of literary or artistic work (e.g. "Sherlock Holmes was perhaps one of the most interesting characters of the entire detective fiction genre")

edict

a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge) (e.g. "the king made an edict decreeing that no people could eat or drink anything without his express permission; this law was disobeyed almost immediately")

queue

a line of people or vehicles waiting for something; form a queue; form a line; stand in line (e.g. "The people in the queue all seem rather impatient; it's probably because they've all been standing there since yesterday.")

crevice

a long narrow opening; a long narrow depression in a surface (e.g. "as the mountain-climber's foot slipped and he began to fall, he frantically grasped for a crevice to slip his hand into to hold him up; he missed, and fell to his death")

gambit

a maneuver in a game or conversation; an opening remark intended to secure an advantage for the speaker (e.g. "Jamie has a rather competitive outlook on society; he sees all actions to be committed for the sole purpose of gaining an advantage in life; he even saw normal conversation as an endless procession of gambits and counter-gambits")

gravity

a manner that is serious and solemn, a solemn and dignified feeling (e.g. "when the teenager burped loudly at the funeral, he got in trouble because the pastor giving the sermon thought that the teen's behavior was inconsistent with the intended gravity of the scene")

skirmish

a minor short-term fight; engage in a skirmish (e.g. "Although the official government newspaper of the country called the most recent battle in the civil war against the rebels a 'skirmish', both sides privately admitted that it was much more than a skirmish, and neither side had won a conclusive victory.")

sovereign

a nation's ruler or head of state usually by hereditary right; greatest in status or authority or power; of political bodies (e.g. "In most countries today, the sovereign is merely a figurehead, and has very little true power.")

incarnation

a new personification of a familiar idea; the act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas etc. (e.g. "he is the incarnation of intelligence; in fact, I think he's related to Einstein")

melee

a noisy riotous fight (e.g. "The melee was precipitated by the assault on the person of John Smith.")

appendage

a part that is joined to something larger (e.g. "spiders have the ability to lose appendages and still function; for example, if a spider were to lose two or three legs, it could still manage to function") উপাঙ্গ , লেজুড় , সংযোজন

buffoon

a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior (e.g. "after little Jimmy finished standing on his head on top of the restaurant table, his mother rebuked him: 'Jimmy, you're acting like a buffoon!'") ভাঁড় , জোকার

agnostic

a person who doubts truth of religion (e.g. "C.S. Lewis, formerly an agnostic, eventually became one of the most well-known Christians of all time.") অজ্ঞেয়বাদ

benefactor

a person who helps people or institutions (especially with financial help) (e.g. "The generous benefactor gave $1,000,000 to the new university.") উপকারী ব্যক্তি-দাতা

dolt

a person who is not very bright (e.g. "when I called my best friend a dolt, he immediately became my ex-best friend")

confederate

a person who joins with another in carrying out some plan (especially an unethical or illegal plan) (e.g. "the criminal and his confederates pondered over how they were going to try to break into Fort Knox") চুক্তি বা সন্ধিসূত্রে আবদ্ধ , জোটবদ্ধ , মৈত্রীবদ্ধ

corollary

a practical consequence that follows naturally (e.g. "In geometry, a theorem which can be proved easily from an existing theorem is called a corollary, because it follows naturally from the existing theorem.") অনুসিদ্ধান্ত , উপসিদ্ধান্ত

bulwark

a protective structure of stone or concrete (e.g. "the castle was fortified with protective bulwarks all around it") বাঁধ, প্রাকার, বুরুজ, গড়-প্রাচীর, আত্মরক্ষার উপায়, নিরাপত্তার উপায়

paranoia

a psychological disorder characterized by delusions of persecution or grandeur (e.g. "His paranoia was not lessened by his friend's reasoning, because his paranoia was not based on reason, but on illogical delusions.")

cadence

a recurrent rhythmical series (e.g. "The cadence of his voice was smooth, but held hidden menace beneath the surface.") শব্দের ছন্দময় দোলা

effigy

a representation of a person (especially in the form of sculpture) (e.g. "the effigy of the man is not true-to-life; I believe that the real man has a much larger nose than the depiction here")

caricature

a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect (e.g. "Caricatures of the current President of the United States usually draw him with a very thin head and extremely large ears; such caricatures are intentionally inaccurate.") অতিরঞ্জিত , মজাদার অনুকরণ

reprisal

a retaliatory action against an enemy in wartime (e.g. "when Timbuktu attacked Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo's military reprisals nearly wiped out Timbuktu's entire army")

bristle

a short, stiff hair, fiber, etc. (e.g "the hair on the back of his neck bristled") পশুলোম , খাড়া করা the bristles of a brush

portent

a sign of something about to happen (e.g. "in ancient times, a comet was seen as a portent of great evil")

covenant

a signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action (e.g. "When America gained its freedom from Britain, it signed a covenant with Britain at the Treaty of Paris, in 1783, which said that it was an independent country.") চুক্তিপত্র , অঙ্গীকারপত্র

vignette

a small illustrative sketch (as sometimes placed at the beginning of chapters in books); a photograph whose edges shade off gradually; a brief literary description (e.g. "The book opened with a brief vignette about each of the major characters.")

cascade

a small, steep waterfall; especially : one that is part of a series of waterfalls;a large number of things that happen quickly in a series (e.g. "on Black Friday, the moment Walmart opened, a cascade of people stampeded inside to get the best deals on items") জলপ্রপাত

proletariat

a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages (e.g. "according to Karl Marx, some day the proletariat will overthrow the bourgeois of every country on earth")

enmity

a state of deep-seated ill-will (e.g. "I feel enmity towards Joe Smith, because he insulted me")

ignominy

a state of dishonor (e.g. "criminals are typically held in ignominy by the general public")

doldrums

a state of inactivity (in business or art etc) (e.g. "honestly, it seems that their economy is in the doldrums; nothing is really happening, no new businesses are starting, and generally things aren't doing so well economically over there")

stagnation

a state of inactivity (in business or art etc) (e.g. "stagnation is lethal to a business. If a business stops being innovative and stops selling new, interesting products that people want to buy, people will stop buying from them")

sect

a subdivision of a larger religious group; a dissenting clique (e.g. "The Gnostics -- various offshoot religious sects in the first several centuries AD -- believed that they and they alone had found the true way to heaven, and that all of the other nearly identical sects were dead wrong.")

affiliate

a subordinate or subsidiary associate (e.g. "the law firm is named 'Smith and affiliates'; that is, Smith is the main member, but there are other supporting members as well") সংযুক্ত করা , সম্পর্কযুক্ত ব্যক্তি

nuance

a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude (e.g. "although one may not think much about it, the English language is very difficult; the subtle nuances of word choices, slight modulations of vocal inflection -- all of these can dramatically alter the meaning of a sentence")

paroxysm

a sudden uncontrollable attack (e.g. "His paroxysm of anger was brought about by the realization that he had been duped by a con-man.")

stipend

a sum of money allotted on a regular basis (e.g. "Those on government welfare receive a monthly stipend from the federal government.")

prowess

a superior skill that you can learn by study and practice and observation (e.g. "In Homer's 'Iliad', men such as Hector and Achilles showed great prowess in battle.")

preponderance

a superiority in numbers or amount; exceeding in heaviness; superiority in power or influence (e.g. "I believe that there is a preponderance of bedbugs in this mattress.")

appurtenance

a supplementary component that improves capability (e.g. "although the expansion pack is only an appurtenance and not entirely necessary to game play, it is highly recommended") আনুষঙ্গিক বা সহায়ক কোনো কিছু

bacchanal

a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity (e.g. "the bacchanal was not an event that people with any sense of morality should attend; on the contrary, only those without any sense of decent behavior were there") গ্রীক্দের সুরাদেবতা ব্যাকাস বা তাঁর পূজা সংক্রান্ত , উন্মত্ত , পানোন্মত্ত

mentor

a wise and trusted guide and adviser (e.g. "Harry's mentor taught him all sorts of useful things, such as the meaning of life, the evils of mankind, and what to do in a zombie apocalypse")

solidarity

a union of interests or purposes or sympathies among members of a group (e.g. "Although the sense of solidarity among the workers eventually waned, it could not be disputed that they were still much more keenly interested in one another's welfare than most.")

vicissitude

a variation in circumstances or fortune at different times in one's life or in the development of something (e.g. "Mary decided that she did not have the nerves of steel necessary to ride out the vicissitudes of the stock market, so she sold all of the stocks she owned")

sally

a venture off the beaten path; a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position; witty remark (e.g. "The initial sally of the troops accomplished nothing; they gained practically no ground, and the ground they gained they lost again by the next day.")

cliché

a worn-out idea or overused expression (e.g. "'A penny saved is a penny earned' is a well-known cliché.") সস্তা, গতানুগতিক, বহুব্যবহারে জীর্ণ ভাব, পদসমষ্টি, ছাঁচের ছাপ

warrant

a writ from a court commanding police to perform specified acts; a written assurance that some product or service will be provided or will meet certain specifications; formal and explicit approval (e.g. "It is illegal for the police to arrest you in the U.S. without a warrant.")

compatible

able to get along or work well together; capable of use with some other model or system (e.g. "although the computer program was written for Windows, it is compatible with Linux") সংগতিপূর্ণ , সামঞ্জস্যপূর্ণ , একযোগে ব্যবহারযোগ্য

impregnable

able to withstand attack; impossible to take by storm (e.g. "the castle is impregnable to attack: it is surrounded by a succession of five moats which are continually refilled with boiling oil and three sets of outer walls; additionally, it has the best archers in the land, and dozens of guardsmen patrol the castle at all hours")

sententious

abounding in or given to pompous or aphoristic moralizing (e.g. "Mr. Bumble, from Dickens' 'Oliver Twist', was sententious -- he was constantly pontificating about morality, and he broke every single rule that he himself said that everyone should follow.")

self-made

achieving wealth or influence through one's own effort rather than being born to a privileged family (e.g. "The self-made man felt disdain for all non-self-made people, since they hadn't had as many obstacles to success as he had.")

mediate

act between parties with a view to reconciling differences (e.g. "the self-appointed mediator tried to mediate between the two street-fighters; his only success was in getting himself beaten up")

comply

act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes (e.g. "I complied with my mother's wishes by setting the table as she had asked") কারো অনুরোধ, আদেশ বা ইচ্ছা অনুসারে কাজ করা

behest

an authoritative command or request (e.g. "at my mother's behest, I apologized to the person whom I had previously offended") আদেশ

contretemps

an awkward clash (e.g. "Nixon lost his job over a contretemps known as 'Watergate'") দুর্ভাগ্যজনক ঘটনা , দুর্ঘটনা

capitalism

an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth (e.g. "John Smith is a great believer in capitalism, probably because he made a million dollars through it.") পুঁজিবাদ , ধনতন্ত্র

orthodox

adhering to what is commonly accepted (e.g. "Jamie's rather unorthodox plan for world peace includes the stipulation that he must be made dictator of the world")

botch

an embarrassing mistake; make a mess of, destroy or ruin (e.g. "the criminals tried to murder Mr. Smith; however, they botched the job and merely wounded him") খারাপ ভাবে নিষ্পন্ন কোন কাজ/জোড়াতালি দিয়ে কাজ করা

trauma

an emotional wound or shock often having long-lasting effects; any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc. (e.g. "Although he may recover from his physical trauma within a few weeks, it could take months or years to recover from his emotional trauma.")

verity

an enduring or necessary ethical or religious or aesthetic truth; conformity to reality or actuality (e.g. "I highly doubt the verity of that textbook, especially considering that it was written in the 1500s and also states that the Earth is flat.")

compromise

an accommodation in which both sides make concessions (e.g. "the treaty ending the war was really a compromise; because neither side had definitively won, both side made unreasonable demands") আপস , রফা , সমঝোতা , বোঝাপড়া , মিটমাট

rebuke

an act or expression of criticism and censure (e.g. "Harry's aunt rebuked him for standing on the restaurant table and starting to give a speech; she said his behavior was improper")

reprimand

an act or expression of criticism and censure; rebuke formally; censure severely or angrily (e.g. "Billy was reprimanded for yelling at his younger brother.")

utopia

an imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal (e.g. "although philosophers have envisioned utopia for eons, beginning with Plato thousands of years before Christ, an actual implementation of such a system has eluded man for an equally long time")

momentum

an impelling force or strength (e.g. "The football quarterback had the momentum to knock over everyone in his path as he raced towards the 100 yd. line")

harbinger

an indication of the approach of something or someone (e.g. "Eustace always smells awful; his stench is a harbinger of his approach. One can smell it when he is more than a mile away")

bilious

angry or bad-tempered;irritable as if suffering from indigestion; (e.g. "I did not find his bilious nature pleasing; I never heard him say a kind word to anyone") খিট্খিটে মেজাজবিশিষ্ট , পিত্ত-এছিড সঙ্ক্রান্ত a bilious old dog who snaps at everyone

forthright

characterized by directness in manner or speech; directly and without evasion (e.g. "to avoid getting into further trouble, when asked by his parents how the lamp had gotten broken, Jimmy answered with forthright honesty")

heresy

any opinions or doctrines at variance with the official or orthodox position (e.g. "several centuries ago, the Catholic Church was considered absolutely correct, and everyone who differed was considered a heretic, and a believer of heretical views -- they were considered guilty of heresy")

nirvana

any place of complete bliss and delight and peace; (Hinduism and Buddhism) the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation (e.g. "Jamie considered listening to lots of loud music to be nirvana; his mother disagreed.")

alienate

arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness (e.g. "I alienated my best friend when I said that I thought that he had behaved really stupidly") উদাসীন , বিচ্ছিন্ন বা শত্রুভাবাপন্ন করে তোলা , দূরে সরিয়ে দেওয়া , বিচ্ছেদ বা বিভেদ সৃষ্টি করা , ঘুরিয়ে দেওয়া

disaffect

arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness (e.g. "when I called my best friend an idiot, I disaffected him from myself")

estrange

arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness (e.g. "when I called my friend an idiot, I estranged myself from him")

painstaking

characterized by extreme care and great effort (e.g. "John painstakingly retraced his route, trying to find the secret document which had apparently fallen out of his pocket")

patronize

be a regular customer or client of (e.g. "I patronized the restaurant regularly; I was a regular patron of the restaurant. That is, I regularly ate there")

wanton

behave extremely cruelly and brutally (e.g. "I have no choice but to believe that the defendant's senseless act of cruelty was merely a destructive act of wanton violence")

pertinent

being of striking appropriateness (e.g. "the man regarded his comments about Santa Claus to be pertinent to the general discussion about Christmas")

apt

being of striking appropriateness and pertinence (e.g. "if you put the question to him directly, he is apt to say 'yes'; I can't guarantee that that will be his answer, but it will probably be") যথাযথ , উপযুক্ত , সুসংগত ,জুতসই

titular

being such in name only (e.g. "Although in a communist state, the people are said to possess the power, in reality, the people are only the titular power holders; the party leaders truly have the authority.")

nominal

being such in name only (e.g. "although in Japan before World War II the emperor was supposed to be the head of state, his position was nominal; he was merely a figurehead. The shogun held the real power")

strife

bitter conflict (e.g. "the bitter strife in the country is a result of several ethnicities, which cannot seem to live together in the same country")

blasphemy

blasphemous language (expressing disrespect for God or for something sacred) (e.g. "The chocolate lover claimed that the Healthy Food Convention was committing blasphemy by saying that chocolate could, in excessive amounts, make one fat.") ঈশ্বরীক/মহান ব্যাপার নিয়ে অশ্রদ্ধার সঙ্গে কথা বলা She was condemned by the church for uttering blasphemies.

aggrieve

break the heart of (e.g. "Simon's mother was aggrieved when she discovered how much trouble Simon had gotten himself into") দুঃখিত করা , ব্যথিত করা , বেদনার্ত করা , পীড়ন করা , অন্যায় আচরণ করা

reprehensible

bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure (e.g. "the reprehensible actions of Richard Nixon caused him to have to relinquish the office of President of the United States")

thorny

bristling with perplexities (e.g. "It's a thorny problem; I certainly wouldn't have wanted to have to make that decision myself, but as long as you act within your own convictions, I won't hold it against you.")

willful

by conscious design or purpose, habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition (e.g. "the child's willful nature predisposes her to such unfortunate tendencies such as disobedience and stubbornness")

presumably

by reasonable assumption (e.g. "Presumably, if you are reading these SAT words, you are doing it so that you can score well on the SAT.")

belligerent

characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight; aggressive (e.g. "The belligerents have been fighting for four hours straight and have shown no sign of letting up.") যুদ্ধভাবাপন্ন;আক্রমণাত্মক He was drunk and belligerent.

GAINSAY

c(GAM bul) v to skip about playfully, frolic • Every March, the students performed the rites of spring by gamboling about half naked. • Gamboling in the meadow, the lambs were the very embodiment of playful innocence.

credible

capable of being believed (e.g. "The theory that the Earth is flat, not round, is not credible.") বিশ্বাসযোগ্য , বিশ্বাস্য , প্রত্যয়যোগ্য

pliable

capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out; capable of being bent or flexed or twisted without breaking; able to adjust readily to different conditions; susceptible to being led or directed (e.g. "Gold is the most pliable metal known to man.")

fecund

capable of producing offspring or vegetation, intellectually productive (e.g. "Mark Twain was fecund; he was intellectually productive in that he produced many great works of literature")

cloy

cause surfeit through excess though initially pleasing (e.g. "the smell of the sweet-smelling perfume began to cloy as it became heavier and heavier") ক্লান্ত করা , ভোগক্লান্ত করা, রূচি ক্লান্ত করা, বিতৃষ্ণা বোধ করা

polarize

cause to concentrate about two conflicting or contrasting positions (e.g. "apparently, Andrew Jackson, one of America's presidents during the 1800s, had a tendency to polarize people, at least when it came to people's opinions regarding him: many people loved him, some people hated him, but no people held lukewarm feelings about him")

perpetuate

cause to continue or prevail (e.g. "Although e-mail and instant messaging continue to facilitate and perpetuate bad grammar, we have high hopes that eventually such atrocious grammar as routinely occurs today will be a thing of the past.")

castigate

censure severely (e.g. "Peter castigated John for investing all their money in a bankrupt company.") শাস্তি দেওয়া , কড়া সমালোচনা করা

chastise

censure severely (e.g. "The children's mother chastised them for jumping on the bed.") গুরুতর শাস্তি দেওয়া

ardent

characterized by intense emotion (e.g. "Mary Jones is an ardent lover of baseball; it's all she ever talks about") উত্তপ্ত , জ্বলন্ত , সহজদাহ্য , অনুরক্ত , উত্সাহিত , উদ্দীপ্ত , ব্যাকুল

inflammatory

characterized or caused by inflammation; arousing to action or rebellion (e.g. "his inflammatory remarks at the political convention about the complete lawlessness of all politicians did not ingratiate him to all of the politicians the convention")

purported

claimed as true, but probably false (e.g. "the press of the foreign country purports that the economic situation there is not dangerous; however, nobody believes that")

adjourn

close at the end of a session (e.g. "the judge adjourned the court after he stated his decision") স্থগিত রাখা , মুলতুবি রাখা

fodder

coarse food (especially for cattle and horses) composed of entire plants or the leaves and stalks of a cereal crop (especially metaphorically) (e.g. "all of the books in the house became fodder for the voracious reader")

protocol

code of correct conduct; forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state (e.g. "'Jimmy, it is not correct protocol to make faces at the table,' said his father sternly.")

amass

collect or gather (e.g. "the crowd which amassed outside the Bastille at the beginning of the French Revolution eventually forced its way inside and cut the governor's head off") জড়ো করা , রাশীকৃত করা , সঞ্চয় করা , জমানো

congregate

come together, usually for a purpose (e.g. "We have congregated together this day to ponder what would happen if a zombie apocalypse occurred tomorrow.") সমাবিষ্ট করা , একত্রিত করা বা হওয়া , জড়ো হওয়া , জড়ো করা

droll

comical in an odd or whimsical manner (e.g. "the street performers droll humor was charming and offbeat") (note: example sentence from WikiAnswers)

inaugurate

commence officially (e.g. "when an American President is sworn into office, it is called the 'inauguration ceremony' -- it is the ceremony in which the President-elect actually becomes the President")

inane

complacently foolish (e.g. "most of the Bennett children from 'Pride and Prejudice' could be considered inane -- they seem to have no other wish but to be married to a rich husband")

nihilism

complete denial of all established authority and institutions (e.g. "the nihilist believed that the correct answer to the question, 'what is the meaning of life?' was simply 'there is no meaning' because he did not acknowledge the right for any government to rule and he did not believe in any religion or Supreme Being.

serene

completely clear and fine; characterized by absence of emotional agitation (e.g. "The serenity of the landscape stood in stark contrast to the turmoil of my heart.")

clandestine

conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods (e.g. "although the stated mission of the secret agent was simply to retrieve some non-classified papers that had been misplaced, he had clandestine orders to attempt to rescue a fellow agent who had been captured by enemy forces") গোপন , গুপ্ত , লুকোনো , চোরাগোপ্তা

oxymoron

conjoining contradictory terms (e.g. "The term, 'a definite possibility' is an oxymoron; if something is definite, then it is certain to occur, but if something is only a possibility, it might occur, but it isn't certain.")

fragmentary

consisting of small disconnected parts (e.g. "although we have only fragmentary evidence regarding that civilization, we at least know that it at one time existed")

blatant

conspicuously and offensively loud;very obvious and offensive (e.g. "The man blatantly announced that he was robbing the bank.") চোখে পড়ার মত উচ্চ কণ্ঠে কিছু বলা

concert

contrive (a plan) by mutual agreement (e.g. "by acting in concert, the Green Beret team was able to accomplish a mission that certainly none of them would have been able to accomplish alone") দুই বা ততোধিক যন্ত্রবাদনের সংগীতানুষ্�� ান , সমবেত কণ্�� ধ্বনি

explicit

definite, clearly stated (e.g. "Jim explicitly told Bob to burn down Jones's barn; he told Bob plainly that he wanted Jones's barn burned down")

hapless

deserving or inciting pity (e.g. "the character Oliver Twist from the book 'Oliver Twist' is hapless -- his early life circumstances are very poor -- he doesn't know who his mother is, and he lives in a poorhouse in England")

distinguish

detect with the senses (e.g. "even at this distance the man was able to distinguish that the mountain was considerably taller than any he had ever climbed before")

temporize

draw out a discussion or process in order to gain time (e.g. "During the debate round, the other team had three minutes to cross-examine me; after they asked me a question to which I didn't know the answer, I temporized for the remainder of the three minutes so that I wouldn't have to be embarrassed by admitting my ignorance.")

corrosive

eating away gradually, acid-like; bitterly sarcastic (e.g. "his corrosive comments about the state of modern politics and government in general left all of the politicians in the room feeling either infuriated or depressed") ক্ষয়কারী

effectual

effective; adequate (e.g. "although our methods may seem crude to some, they are effectual")

acclaim

enthusiastic approval (e.g. "the scientist's theory met widespread acclaim among fellow scientists") অভিনন্দিত করা , অভিবন্দনা

misapprehension

error; misunderstanding; V. misapprehend (Leo's fear that his parents would be angry that he flunked his history test turned out to be a misapprehension; they weren't angry.")

corroborate

establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts (e.g. "Jim's new evidence corroborates Jacob's old theory: it strengthens it.") অনুমোদন করা , সমর্থন করা , সুনিশ্চিত করা

antithesis

exact opposite (e.g. "The book 'War and Peace' seems to contain two items, both of which seem to be the antithesis of the other: war and peace.") বিরোধ , বিরোধিতা , দ্বন্দ্ব , বৈপরীত্য , ভিন্নতা , বিভেদ

scrupulous

exact, careful, attending thoroughly to details; having high moral standards, principled (e.g. "the scrupulous student would not cheat on the test, even though he knew that he was smart enough not to get caught if he did cheat")

inordinate

excessive (e.g. "Jane Doe seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time discussing the healthfulness of chocolate")

harass

exhaust by attacking repeatedly; annoy continually or chronically (e.g. "my little brother was harassing me, trying to get me to allow him to eat my chocolate bar")

quantitative

expressible as a quantity or relating to or susceptible of measurement (e.g. "in the last example sentence, if I had looked at the two people quantitatively, I could not have reached a decision, for beauty is not expressible in units")

conversant

familiar with; having knowledge of (e.g. "Einstein was more than simply conversant with his Theory of Relativity; after all, he basically built the Theory of Relativity") ভালোরকম পরিচিতি , অভিজ্ঞ , সু-অবহিত , ওয়াকিবহাল

consternation

fear resulting from the awareness of danger (e.g. "to his mother's consternation, Jimmy was abducted by aliens") ভয়জনিত হতাশা , হতবুদ্ধি অবস্থা , বিহ্বলতা , আতঙ্ক

replenish

fill something that had previously been emptied (e.g. "Josephine drove to the gas station to replenish her car's supply of gasoline, for it was almost out")

replete

fill to satisfaction (e.g. "the fabulous buffet was replete with every treat I could have wanted") (note: the example sentence was from WikiAnswers")

pregnant

filled with or attended with; rich in significance or implication (e.g. "The atmosphere was pregnant with suspense.")

conventional

following accepted customs and proprieties (e.g. "Juliette's idea to have people pay their taxes by giving all politicians twenty free meals during the year was not conventional; it was unusual.")

embroil

force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action (e.g. "as the Soviet Union became embroiled in Afghanistan, they slowly realized one thing, the same thing that America had realized in Viet Nam -- a guerrilla war simply cannot be won without overpowering brutality on the part of the invading force")

impartial

free from undue bias or preconceived opinions (e.g. "in court, judges are supposed to be impartial -- they aren't supposed to have decided beforehand who they believe is right")

anterior

front (e.g. "the historic sinking of the Titanic in 1912 began when its anterior collided with an iceberg") সামনের দিকের , সামনের , আগের , অগ্রাবস্থিত , পূর্বঘটিত

inept

generally incompetent and ineffectual (e.g. "the inept politician of Timbuktu was fired by the monarch, John Smith")

plunder

goods or money obtained illegally; destroy and strip of its possession; steal goods; plunder (a town) after capture; take illegally (e.g. "Although much of the pirates' plunder looks valuable, much of it is worthless trash.")

enfranchise

grant voting rights (e.g. "the 15th amendment of the United States Constitution enfranchised African-American people--they were given the right to vote")

underwrite

guarantee financial support of; protect by insurance (e.g. "The wealthy baron offered to underwrite the explorer's expedition.")

cursory

hasty and without attention to detail (e.g. "My teacher's cursory reading of my essay led me to think that he didn't think that it was very interesting.")

vitriolic

harsh or corrosive in tone (e.g. "his answer was vitriolic, and I drew back, surprised by his caustic tone") (note: example sentence from WikiAnswers")

concentric

having a common center (e.g. "a dartboard has a number of concentric circles of various sizes on it") এককেন্দ্রিক , সমকেন্দ্রীয়

diurnal

having a daily cycle or occurring every day (e.g. "most human behavior is modeled after a diurnal routine")

averse

having a deep-seated distaste; opposed, unwilling (e.g. "Amazingly, he seemed averse to the idea of being a guinea pig for the scientists' highly dangerous experiments.") বিরোধী , বিরূপ , বিমুখ , অনিচ্ছুক

acute

having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course (e.g. "The disease's symptoms include acute pain, difficulty breathing, liver failure, yellow skin, and death.") ধারালো , ছুঁচোলো , তীব্র , প্রচণ্ড , দারুণ

proficient

having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude (e.g. "surprisingly, when in university, Albert Einstein showed a remarkable lack of proficiency in many subjects")

thwart

hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of (e.g. "His plan to take over the world was thwarted by his sheer and absolute incompetence.")

undermine

hollow out as if making a cave or opening; destroy property or hinder normal operations (e.g. "The presence of fifth-columnists in the country undermined its war effort.")

ironic

humorously sarcastic or mocking (e.g. "it seemed faintly ironic that the oppressive dictator was assassinated by someone who thought that he hadn't been oppressive enough")

ribald

humorously vulgar (e.g. "The ribald character of those jokes caused them to be unfit for placement in a clean joke book.")

incorrigible

impervious to correction by punishment (e.g. "in Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest', one character, Caliban, is seen as being incorrigible: he is seen as being a character who will not and cannot repent of his evil deeds")

benevolent

kind and generous (e.g. "The generous benefactor mentioned two examples ago was benevolent.") হিতৈষী, , দানশীল; পরোপকারী. a gift from a benevolent donor He belonged to several benevolent societies and charitable organizations.

impenetrable

impossible to understand; not admitting of penetration or passage into or through; permitting little if any light to pass through because of denseness of matter (e.g. "quantum mechanics tend to be considered impenetrable for non-scientists")

grandiose

impressive because of unnecessary largeness or grandeur (e.g. "John Smith, the main architect of Timbuktu, wanted to build a ten-kilometer-tall skyscraper; however, his advising board told him that that sounded unnecessarily grandiose")

dilapidated

in deplorable condition (e.g. "the dilapidated, old barn has not been used for decades; now, no one uses it because everyone is afraid that it would collapse on them if they tried to use it")

innate

inborn (e.g. "some behaviors of various animals are innate: a squirrel doesn't have to learn how to eat acorns; they already know how")

augur

indicate by signs; (ancient Rome) a religious official who interpreted omens to guide public policy (e.g. "the moral decay of society does not augur well for those reformers in society who seek to improve societal morality") ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী করা , ভবিষ্যত পরিণাম বলে দেওয়া , আভাসিত করা , গুণে বলা , পূর্বাভাস দেওয়া

prepossess

influence (somebody's) opinion in advance (e.g. "when the lamp got broken after my brother and I were fighting, I quickly ran to my mother to tell her my side of the story; unfortunately for me, my brother had got there first, and had prepossessed her with regards to the fight")

hypocrisy

insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have; an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction (e.g. "the character Mr. Bumble from 'Oliver Twist' by Charles Dickens exhibits great hypocrisy; he lauds the virtue of humility and then goes on to prove himself to be a prideful bigot")

debilitate

make weak (e.g. "he was debilitated by the alien death-ray")

woe

intense mournfulness; misery resulting from affliction (e.g. "Woe is me! I accidentally flushed my homework down the toilet!")

qualitative

involving distinctions based on qualities (e.g. "when looking at them qualitatively, I can hold the opinion that Lesa is more pretty than Hannah")

unilateral

involving only one part or side (e.g. "Children hate it when their parents make unilateral decisions; that is, when their parents make decisions without giving them any input.")

consonant

involving or characterized by harmony (e.g. "The musicians sounded consonant: the instruments sounded good together.") সংগতিপূর্ণ , ব্যঞ্জনবর্ণ , সুসংগত , সুসমন্বিত

sensory

involving or derived from the senses (e.g. "one's sensory input is derived mostly from five sources: one's sight, hearing, sense of touch, taste, and smell")

ensue

issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.) (e.g. "after the atomic bomb blew up in the center of the city, mayhem ensued in all parts of the city that still had anyone alive in them")

preclude

keep from happening or arising (e.g. "the fact that there is a law in affect which forbids people from killing each other does not preclude the possibility of murders: unfortunately, not everyone obeys this law")

deem

keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view (e.g. "when explaining to the police my account of the murder to which I had been an eyewitness, I deemed it unnecessary to explain to them that I had been an accomplice to the murderer")

dissonant

lacking in harmony (e.g. "The musicians sounded dissonant: the instruments did not sound as if they were meant to be played together.")

incongruous

lacking in harmony or compatibility or appropriateness (e.g. "his formal suit and tie seemed incongruous with the overall atmosphere of the pool party")

purblind

lacking in insight or discernment; having greatly reduced vision (e.g. "In 'Star Wars,' the Jedi were purblind in that they didn't see Senator Palpatine for what he really was.")

licentious

lacking moral discipline (e.g. "His licentious behavior has given him a bad reputation among all women over 30")

impotent

lacking power or ability (e.g. "although there is still a traditional queen of England, she is impotent -- she doesn't have the ability to arbitrarily make war on other countries, like the kings and queens did centuries ago")

arid

lacking vitality or spirit; lacking sufficient water or rainfall (e.g. "the climate here is particularly arid; less than eight inches of rain fall here per year") শুষ্ক , শুকনো , তাপদগ্ধ , অনুর্বর , নীরস , রসকষহীন

emigrate

leave one's country of residence for a new one (e.g. "in the 1800s, during the Irish potato famine, many emigrated from Ireland")

bequeath

leave or give by will after one's death (e.g. "The generous benefactor bequeathed $1,000,000 to the new university.") সম্পত্তি কাউকে উইল করে দান করা , আগামী প্রজন্মের হাতে তুলে দেওয়া He bequeathed his paintings to the museum. Lessons of the past are bequeathed to future generations.

forsake

leave someone who needs or counts on you (e.g. "after the aliens abducted Jim, Bob decided to forsake his friend and run for his life")

harry

make a pillaging or destructive raid on (a place), as in wartime; annoy continually or chronically (e.g. "my little brother was harrying me, trying to get me to allow him to eat my chocolate bar")

forebode

make a prediction about (e.g. "the explosion of the atomic bomb over the capitol building does not forebode well for the future of our nation")

endear

make attractive or lovable (e.g. "his irascible personality did not aid his attempt to endear himself to me")

feign

make believe with the intent to deceive (e.g. "the girl feigned happiness at her Christmas present, but in reality, she was bitterly disappointed that she had not gotten something else")

incense

make furious (e.g. "my argument against child-labor so incensed the pro-child-labor fanatic that he became apoplectic")

improvise

manage in a makeshift way; perform without preparation (e.g. "after I was seized with the urge to practice my acting skills, I decided to improvise something on the spot, so I gave an impromptu one-man rendition of Hamlet")

stupor

marginal consciousness; the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally (e.g. "He shook off his feeling of stupor, realizing that it would not help him to regain his lost position.")

insolent

marked by casual disrespect (e.g. "the modern stereotype of the insolent teenager originated in the 1960s")

vehement

marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions (e.g. "when asked whether he had committed the murder, Bob Smith's vehement denial convinced the jury that he was innocent")

infatuated

marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness (e.g. "John Smith seems infatuated with Jane Doe -- everything he says is about her")

dotage

mental infirmity as a consequence of old age (e.g. "his grandmother is well into her dotage; she cannot look after herself and has to live in a nursing home")

tepid

moderately warm (e.g. "I realized that something was wrong with our water heater after I found that the water coming out of the 'hot water' spigot was merely tepid.")

puritanical

morally rigorous and strict; exaggeratedly proper (e.g. "Although the word 'puritanical' is derived directly from the word 'Puritan', the Puritans were in many ways undeserving of the word; however, in many situations, they were; for example, they were incredibly punitive -- for committing adultery, one could be put to death.")

predominant

most frequent or common; having superior power and influence (e.g. "Although in ancient Rome a polytheistic worldview was predominant, nowadays monotheistic and atheistic worldviews are the main worldviews.")

inviolate

must be kept sacred (e.g. "Unfortunately, the mosaic did not survive World War II inviolate; it was badly cracked by an explosion from Allied bombs.")

sacrosanct

must be kept sacred (e.g. "the nonexistent 'Fanatical Chocolate Lovers of America' society might believe that the idea that chocolate is always healthy is sacrosanct")

reciprocal

mutual (e.g. "my feelings of hate for Bob were reciprocated by his feelings of hate for me")

panacea

mythological remedy for all ills or diseases (e.g. "in the days of Lewis and Clark, a particular type of laxative was considered to be a panacea: whenever anyone was sick, that was what they were forced to take")

altercation

noisy quarrel (e.g. "unfortunately, my mother heard the altercation between my brother and myself, so both my brother and I got in big trouble") কথাকাটাকাটি , তর্কাতর্কি , ঝগড়াঝাঁটি , বচসা

cipher

nonentity; worthless person or thing; zero; secret code; V. (e.g. "if one has three apples, and then he eats three of his apples, how many uneaten apples does he have left? Cipher") শূন্য, গোল্লা, অপদার্থ বস্তু, অপদার্থ ব্যক্তি, অঙ্কে কষা, সংকেতে লেখা, অঙ্ক করিয়া বাহির করা, সংকেতলিপি পাঠোদ্ধারেরে চাবিকাঠি, সামান্য ব্যক্তি

faux

not genuine or real (e.g. "the necklace contains merely faux diamonds")

unwitting

not aware or knowing (e.g. "charlatans will usually attempt to prey upon unwitting passers-by")

obscure

not clearly understood or expressed (e.g. "when I asked Jane why she believed that the moon was made of green cheese, she cited all kinds of obscure sources from the 1400s")

indiscrete

not divided or divisible into parts (e.g. "in a homogeneous mixture, all of the substances have mixed together, being conjoined into one whole; it is an indiscrete mixture")

figurative

not literal but metaphorical; using a figure (impression) of speech (e.g. "Donald believes that the moon is made of green cheese. Figuratively speaking, this could be considered an intellectual fetter.")

disproportionate

not proportionate (e.g. "the unfair treasurer of the company divided the profits disproportionately; he let everyone else have 1% of the profits, and he took 99% for himself")

civil

not rude (e.g. "Knights are supposed to be civil when conversing with ladies.") মানবসমাজ সংক্রান্ত , নাগরিক সভ্যতা সংক্রান্ত , অসামরিক , দেওয়ানি

quixotic

not sensible about practical matters (e.g. "the quixotic man galloped around on his horse, mistaking windmills for giants and generally making a fool of himself") (note: if the example sentence does not make much sense, read 'Don Quixote', by Cervantes; 'quixotic' comes from the main character of that work")

distinct

not the same; different or separate (e.g. "there are two distinct and separate parts to the test: a multiple choice section and a free-response section")

extort

obtain by coercion or intimidation (e.g. "my elder sister tried to extort money from me by threatening to attack me with the Ping-Pong ball gun if I didn't")

concurrent

occurring or operating at the same time (e.g. "Their house had two TVs running concurrently, and each had a different show on; the result was extremely discordant.") একই সঙ্গে সংঘটিত , সহঘটিত , সমাপতিত , সহাবস্থিত , সমবর্তী

incessant

occurring so frequently as to seem ceaseless or uninterrupted (e.g. "the children's incessant whining nearly drove their mother mad")

domestic

of concern to or concerning the internal affairs of a nation (e.g. "one of the lines in the Preamble to the American Constitution is, 'to ensure domestic tranquility'--one of the purposes of American government it to keep the nation tranquil")

grievous

of great gravity or crucial import; causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm; shockingly brutal or cruel; causing or marked by grief or anguish (e.g. "the grievous sins of the populous weighed heavily upon the king")

aristocratic

of noble birth; snobbish (e.g. "Louis XVI was aristocratic, so the leaders of the French Revolution cut off his head.") সম্ভ্রান্ত (Adj.), অভিজাত (Adj.), খানদানী (Adj.), আভিজাতপূর্ণ (Adj.), আভিজাতিক (Adj.), কুলীন (Adj.), ধ্রুপদী (Adj.)

ecclesiastical

of or associated with a church (especially a Christian Church) (e.g. "'although I would enjoy staying longer, I have my ecclesiastical duties to attend to,' said the bishop politely")

tactical

of or pertaining to tactic or tactics (e.g. "We believe that the Empire has made a tactical error: although the Death Star is impregnable to an attack by our larger cruisers, it does have a weakness which can be exploited by our one-man fighters.")

draconian

of or relating to Draco or his harsh code of laws (e.g. "my draconian math teacher has given the entire class all sorts of extremely difficult math problems that Einstein himself probably couldn't solve")

moribund

on the point of death (e.g. "just before he died, the moribund man gave a last deathbed confession to his mother: on the morning of June 15, 1985, he hadn't brushed his teeth")

stratum

one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism) (e.g. "the rock strata (pl. of stratum) are arranged in several varying heterogeneous layers")

plebeian

one of the common people (e.g. "in the days of the Roman Republic, there were two main classes of people: the patricians, or the influential, affluent class, and the plebeians")

predecessor

one who precedes you in time (as in holding a position or office) (e.g. "The predecessor of Barack Obama was George Bush, Jr.")

charlatan

one who pretends to have knowledge in order to swindle others ("Bernie Madoff was a charlatan: he managed to swindle billions and billions of dollars out of people's pockets.") হাতুড়ে , চালিয়াত

permeate

penetrate mutually or be interlocked (e.g. "unfortunately, rather dubious moral values permeated Roman society during its days as an empire; it is thought that this may be one of the reasons for its decline and eventual fall")

seamless

perfectly consistent and coherent; not having or joined by a seam or seams (e.g. "Admittedly, his story is seamless; even so, I don't believe that he's telling the truth.")

vicarious

performed, suffered, or otherwise experienced by one person in place of another (e.g. "Harry took a sort of twisted vicarious pleasure in watching his older cousin punch his worst enemy in the nose")

infuse

teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions; fill, as with a certain quality (e.g. "the little boy was infused with honesty, prudence, and fortitude")

quizzical

perplexed (as if being expected to know something that you do not know); playfully vexing (especially by ridicule) (e.g. "The quizzical expression of the faces of all his students caused the professor to believe that he hadn't done a very good job explaining to the students the lesson for that day.")

bemused

perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements (e.g. "Mary Jones was bemused by the United States tax code: she wasn't sure how much money she had to pay.") বিভ্রান্ত , বিমূঢ় , বিহ্বল , হতবুদ্ধি; বোকচদ the stage mishap momentarily bemused the actress

appraise

place a value on (e.g. "the jeweler appraised the diamond") মূল্য নির্ধারণ করা , মূল্যায়ন করা , দাম নিরূপণ

assess

place a value on (e.g. "the jeweler assessed the gem, and finally declared its value to be about $5300") ধার্য করা

intersperse

place at intervals in or among (e.g. "the jewels were interspersed among the chaff")

bracing

pleasantly cool or cold; invigorating (e.g. "I find a bracing wind to be very healthful") চাঙ্গা করে এমন; স্বাস্থ্যকর

exalt

praise, glorify, or honor (e.g. "I exalted Mr. Smith by kowtowing before him")

extol

praise, glorify, or honor (e.g. "I extolled Albert Einstein for being the greatest genius in the world")

rend

tear or be torn violently (e.g. "In ancient Israel, the act of the high priest rending his garment was a symbolic gesture of his extreme disapproval.")

render

provide or furnish with; cause to become; bestow; pass down, give or supply; show in, or as in, a picture; give an interpretation or rendition of; give back; make over as a return (e.g. "My attempt to render the sunset in a painting failed miserably, as the sunset had an ineffable aura of majesty about it which my canvas simply could not capture.")

propound

put forward, as of an idea (e.g. "The chairman of the 'Moon is Made of Green Cheese' Society propounded the idea that the moon is made of green cheese.")

repress

put out of one's consciousness; conceal or hide; put down by force or intimidation (e.g. "Repression of freedom of the press was an unfortunate and unexpected result of the Alien and Sedition Acts, passed in 1798 in the United States; they were subsequently repealed.")

surreal

resembling a dream; characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions (e.g. "The surreal atmosphere of the scene was accentuated by the flying pigs I saw overhead.")

serpentine

resembling a serpent in form (e.g. "Do not drive on that serpentine road if you are prone to carsickness; you will surely become carsick if you try.")

electorate

the body of enfranchised citizens (e.g. "the politician felt that he was the greatest thing since George Washington; the electorate felt otherwise, and the politician didn't get a single vote")

revere

regard with feelings of respect and reverence (e.g. "probably, many physics scientists revere Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking")

bemoan

regret strongly (e.g. "'Oh, why didn't I listen to the advice of those wiser than me?' the broken man bemoaned") বিলাপ করা

spurn

reject with contempt (e.g. "Despite his former graciousness to me, I spurned his pleas and allowed him to be thrown off of the cliff.")

extricate

release from entanglement of difficulty (e.g. "after I got stuck in the giant toaster oven, my sister had a hard time extricating me from it, and she eventually had to call the police to get me out")

exacting

requiring precise accuracy (e.g. "creating the mirror in the Hubble Space Telescope required exacting precision: being off by even one fifth of the width of a hair would cause a dramatic decrease in the telescope's ability")

usurp

seize and take control without authority and possibly with force (e.g. "in 'Prince Caspian', by C.S. Lewis, the protagonist's uncle, King Miraz, has no rightful claim over the throne but merely usurped it")

composed

serenely self-possessed and free from agitation especially in times of stress (e.g. "considering that he had just been abducted by aliens, he seemed reasonably composed") ক্ষান্ত (Adj.), মীমাংসিত (Adj.), স্থির (Adj.), শান্ত (Adj.), স্থিরীকৃত (Adj.), গ্রথিত (Adj.), চিতু (Adj.), প্রণীত (Adj.), ধীরস্থির (Adj.), অবিক্ষুব্ধ (Adj.), অপ্রমত্ত (Adj.), রচিত (Adj.), গুম্ফিত (Adj.), নির্মিত (Adj.), কৃত (Adj.), নিবন্ধিত (Adj.), অবিস্তৃত (Adj.)

anecdote

short account of an incident (especially a biographical one) (e.g. "My anecdotes about John Smith and Timbuktu aren't really true.") কোনো ব্যক্তি বা ঘটনাকে কেন্দ্র করে ছোটোখাটো আকর্ষণীয় বা মজার গল্প , চুটকি

cower

show submission or fear (e.g. "I cowered before the purple alien with the huge ray gun") জড়োসড়ো হওয়া , গুটিসুটি মেরে থাকা

contrived

showing effects of planning or manipulation (e.g. "Johnny's speech sounded contrived; it didn't sound as if it came from his heart.") কৌশল উদ্ভাবন করা , মাথা খাটিয়ে কিছু বার করা , ফন্দি করা , গৃহস্থালির কাজ চালানো

flippant

showing inappropriate levity (e.g. "the pastor seemed almost flippant at the funeral of one of the members of his congregation")

stupendous

so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe (e.g. "Welcome to Barnum and Bailey's stupendous, colossal, magnificent circus!")

mire

soil with mud, muck, or mire; a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot; be unable to move further; cause to get stuck as if in a mire; entrap (e.g. "He became mired in all of the little, pesky details, and lost sight of the big picture.")

imperative

some duty that is essential and urgent (e.g. "'so therefore, friends, neighbors, and countrymen,' finished the speaker, 'we have a moral imperative to promote the diffusion of knowledge throughout the world!'")

emissary

someone sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else (e.g. "the emissary of Sparta commanded the Athenians, in the name of the Spartan king, to surrender to the Spartans; the Athenians refused, beginning the Peloponnesian War")

balm

something that heals or comforts; soothing; an oil or ointment (e.g. "her soothing words were balm to his seared(জালা ধরানো) heart") বেদনা উপশমকারী সুগন্ধি মলম , আরামদায়ক প্রভাব যা প্রাণ মন শীতল করে Art can be a balm to the soul. She shows that laughter is a balm for difficult times.

expedite

speed up the progress of (e.g. "the fact that our car had a rocket engine inside of it expedited our journey to the post office")

slander

spoken defamation (e.g. "in the last example sentence, assuming that the newspaper article's claim was untrue, then it was slander against the CEO")

intermittent

stopping and starting at irregular intervals (e.g. "at intermittent periods, the invaders would swoop down into our territory, and ransack it of all things valuable")

discord

strife resulting from a lack of agreement (e.g. "The music sounded discordant; that is, it sounded as if the various instruments did not belong together.")

pummel

strike, usually with the fist (e.g. "Although the team walked onto the field certain that they would pummel the other team, they were the ones who ended up being pummeled -- that is, they lost badly.")

acrid

strong and sharp (e.g. "The acrid smell of sulfur led me to believe that rotten eggs were nearby.") উগ্র , কটু , ঝাঁজালো , জ্বালাধরানো

imbue

suffuse with color; spread or diffuse through; fill or soak totally (e.g. "staining wood imbues it with dye")

anthropomorphic

suggesting human characteristics for animals or inanimate things (e.g. "myths from uncivilized cultures may anthropomorphize inanimate objects; a legend from Hawai'i, for example, lends human attributes to rocks") প্রাণী বা বস্তুকে নরত্ব আরোপ সম্পর্কিত।

pastoral

suggestive of an idyll; used of idealized country life (e.g. "The pastoral setting was perfect for the artist, who specialized in bucolic scenes.")

definitive

supplying or being a final or conclusive settlement (e.g. "Oxford publishes a definitive dictionary of the English language; it has every word in the language in it")

subsidize

support through subsidies, secure the assistance of by granting a subsidy; as of nations or military forces (e.g. "The government subsidizes ethanol production.")

quell

suppress or crush completely; overcome or allay (e.g. "The Empire tried to quell the Rebellion using its new battle station, the Death Star; however, the Empire was unsuccessful, because the Rebellion blew up the Death Star.")

moratorium

suspension of an ongoing activity; a legally authorized postponement before some obligation must be discharged (e.g. "The CEO of the company declared a moratorium on monetary compensation for everybody but himself.")

genocide

systematic killing of a racial or cultural group (e.g. "Hitler is infamous for his inhumane policy of genocide of Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and other groups which he considered 'sub-human'")

revel

take delight in; unrestrained merrymaking; celebrate noisily; often indulging in drinking (e.g. "Cinderella reveled in her new-found ability to have her wishes granted by a fairy godmother.")

reprove

take to task (e.g. "Bob's aunt reproved him for standing on top of the restaurant table and starting to give a speech; she said that his behavior was improper")

sweeping

taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; having broad range or effect; ignoring distinctions (e.g. "The law instituted sweeping reforms, including freeing all of the serfs and giving all of them land.")

conducive

tending to bring about (e.g. "Toxic gases are not conducive to health.") ঘটানো , কোনো অবস্থা সৃষ্টিতে সহায়ক হওয়া

compelling

tending to persuade by forcefulness of argument (e.g. "His argument was compelling, but I was still unconvinced that the moon was made of green cheese.") বাধ্যকারী

entity

that which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence (living or nonliving) (e.g. "although no living entities are known to exist outside of Earth, that alone is not proof that none exist")

apostasy

the act of abandoning a party or cause (e.g. "the 'Society of Believers that the Moon is Made of Green Cheese' said that James had committed apostasy when he admitted that the evidence shows that the moon is made of rock, not cheese") স্বধর্মত্যাগ , স্বমত বিসর্জন , নীতি বিসর্জন , দলত্যাগ

access

the act of approaching or entering (e.g. "access to the scene of the crime is restricted; it is available only to those with appropriate security clearance") কোনো জায়গায় পৌঁছানোর রাস্তা , অধিগম্যতা

partition

the act of dividing or partitioning; a vertical structure that divides or separates (as a wall divides one room from another); divide into parts, pieces, or sections; separate or apportion into sections (e.g. "Although we could partition the room into several parts, we have decided that we like it better as a single room.")

constituency

the body of voters who elect a representative for their area (e.g. "the politician did not win the election; his values did not align with those of his constituency, so he lost") নির্বাচনক্ষেত্র , নির্বাচনকেন্দ্র , নির্বাচকমণ্ডলী , সমর্থকবৃন্দ

demography

the branch of sociology that studies the characteristics of human populations (e.g. "the study of demography can be very informative because it can reveal patterns in human behavior for a specific subset of the population")

capital

the city that is the seat of government of a state, nation, or province; any human-made resource that is used to create other goods and services (e.g. "attaining the necessary capital for your business plan will require a substantial loan from the bank") রাজধানী , মূলধন , মৃত্যুদণ্ড সংক্রান্ত , মারাত্মক

solace

the comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment; the act of consoling; comfort in disappointment or misery (e.g. "He solaced himself by playing his computer game.")

wake

the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event) (e.g. "Mass hysteria followed in the wake of the zombie attack.")

vernacular

the everyday speech of the people (e.g. "many reformers over the centuries -- including Martin Luther -- campaigned to have the Bible printed in the vernacular, instead of in Greek or Latin, so that the common people could understand it")

junction

the place where two or more things come together; something that joins or connects (e.g. "It appears that I missed the junction between 1st Street and Straight Street")

husbandry

the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock (e.g. "animal husbandry consists of raising animals for milk and food")

cuisine

the practice or manner of preparing food or the food so prepared (e.g. "the cuisine at the restaurant is really very good; I highly recommend it")

interminable

tiresomely long (e.g. "the wait must have seemed interminable to young Jane; yet eventually, it was finally over")

acquiesce

to accept without protest; to agree or submit (e.g. "The man acquiesced to the dictator's demands.") মৌনভাবে সম্মত হওয়া , বিনা আপত্তিতে মেনে নেওয়া

coerce

to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means (e.g. "When John tried to coerce Ali into giving him a billion dollars, Ali called the police.") বল প্রয়োগ করে বাধ্য করা

absolve

to clear from blame, responsibility, or guilt (ex. "The king absolved John Smith from any wrongdoing whatsoever.") বাধ্যবাধকতা থেকে মুক্তি , বিচারে নির্দোষ ঘোষণা করা

subjugate

to conquer by force, bring under complete control (e.g. "the ruler of the country subjugated all of the surrounding nations")

beget

to create; to become the father of (e.g. "Violence begets violence.") উৎপন্ন করা , জন্ম দেওয়া

curtail

to cut short (e.g. "my monologue about how I had accidentally killed the cat was curtailed by my sister, who denounced me as a cat-murderer")

titillate

to excite; to stimulate; to tease (e.g. "His curiosity was titillated by the ending of the movie; now, he will certainly watch the sequel, when it is released.")

commiserate

to feel or express sympathy or compassion (e.g. "I commiserated with Peter; I could empathize with him, for I had gone through a similar trial myself") সমবেদনা অনুভব করা , সমবেদনা প্রকাশ করা

infer

to find out by reasoning; to arrive at a conclusion on the basis of thought (e.g. "the fictitious detective Sherlock Holmes made extremely shrewd inferences during the course of each book")

bestow

to grant or to give (e.g. "the king bestowed knighthood upon the honorable gentleman") অর্পণ করা;ভূষিত করা

mortify

to humiliate (e.g. "Jane was mortified to find that her ex-boyfriend had been spreading nasty rumors about her all over town")

denote

to indicate (e.g. "the asterisk at the end of the line of advertising denotes that the deal may not be as good as it seems, because the asterisk denotes the fact that there is pertinent small print at the bottom of the page, and the small print denotes that the deal is not as good as it seems to be at first glance")

relinquish

to let go, give up (e.g. "after former American President Nixon was accused of crime, he relinquished the office of President of the United States; if he hadn't resigned, he would probably have been kicked out of office")

scrutinize

to look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail (e.g. "he scrutinized my face, checking to see if there were any signs that I was lying")

debase

to lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade, adulterate; to cause to deteriorate (e.g. "the federal government has debased the value of the actual metal in the penny; they used to be almost entirely copper; they have very little copper now")

revamp

to patch up or renovate (e.g. "The hotel was completely revamped; it didn't even look the same.")

envision

to picture in the mind; to imagine (e.g. "I envisioned a utopian society without poverty or strife")

suppress

to put down by force or authority; keep under control; put out of one's consciousness; control and refrain from showing; come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority (e.g. "The army refused to suppress the opposition to the coup, and so the coup fell.")

belabor

to talk about (something) for too long unnecessarily (e.g. "The dull speaker belabored his point until everyone in the audience fell asleep and started snoring.") প্যচাল পেরে/অপ্রয়োজনীয় কোন কিছু করে ফালতু করে তোলা An example of belabor is to spend the entire night proofreading a two page paper.

brandish

to wave or flourish in a menacing or vigorous fashion (e.g. "the man brandished his knife threateningly, and I backed away, frightened") আন্দোলিত করা, ঘোরান, ভাঁজা, আস্ফালন করা, অসি ইঃ সঞ্চালন করা

indulgent

tolerant or lenient (e.g. "my uncle is very indulgent; he buys me whatever I want")

classic

top-notch; of the highest quality; serving as a standard or model (e.g. "a classic example of a sentence using the word 'classic' would be this sentence") প্রথম শ্রেণীর , অতুলনীয় , সর্বোত্তম , অত্যন্ত গুরুত্বপূর্ণ

absolute

total (e.g. "The king was an absolute ruler; that is, he could do whatever he wanted to his people; his rule was final.") অবাধ , চরম , পরম , অকাট্য

affront

treat, mention, or speak to rudely (e.g. "although the man to whom I was speaking considered that I had affronted him when I said that he was an idiot, I can't see why; after all, it was true") প্রকাশ্যে কাউকে অপমান করা , আঁতে ঘা দেওয়া , কারো শালীনতাবোধে আঘাত did not mean to affront you when I told you I didn't need your help

foreswear

turn away from; do without or cease to hold or adhere to (e.g. "the former alcoholic foreswore strong drink")

provisional

under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon (e.g. "after the military coup overthrew the corrupt government, it established a provisional government, which continued until plans for a new constitution could be drafted")

tentative

under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon (e.g. "the countries have worked out a tentative peace agreement, containing conditions which may yet change")

empathy

understanding and entering into another's feelings (e.g. "his feelings of empathy for the wounded man arose from the knowledge that had circumstances been but slightly different, he too might have been badly wounded")

unremitting

uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing (e.g. "the baby let out a long, unremitting wail which eventually drove her mother crazy")

catholic

universal; broad and comprehensive (e.g. "His catholic plan to abolish all taxes was unfeasible.") রোমের চার্চের প্রতি অনুগত ব্যক্তি , উদারচেতা , বিশ্বজনীন

pallor

unnatural lack of color in the skin (as from bruising or sickness or emotional distress) (e.g. "His pallor spoke louder than any words possibly could regarding the horror he felt.")

loath

unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom (e.g. "I was loath to assault him, even though he asked me to")

cogitate

use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments (e.g. "as Sherlock Holmes cogitated over the mystery, I, Watson, was wondering how even Holmes could solve such a puzzler") গভীরভাবে চিন্তা করা , অনুধ্যান করা

prevail

use persuasion successfully, prove superior (e.g. "if the average man on the street were to engage in an intelligence contest with Albert Einstein, Albert Einstein would probably prevail")

deplete

use up (resources or materials) (e.g. "once your stores of food are depleted, you will die of starvation")

modulate

vary the frequency, amplitude, phase, or other characteristic of (electromagnetic waves); adjust the pitch, tone, or volume of; fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of; of one's speech, varying the pitch; change the key of, in music (e.g. "The man modulated his views once he realized that his arguments in favor of his extremist ideas aren't convincing anybody.")

exhaustive

very thorough (e.g. "even though this list is not an exhaustive list of vocabulary words, they are still ones you should know for the SAT")

vivacious

vigorous and active (e.g. "Gregory snorted. 'His abnormally vivacious behavior is probably a mere result of his excess sugar intake over the past 24 hours,' he stated haughtily.")

profane

violate the sacred character of a place or language (e.g. "the word 'profanity' comes from the word 'profane': to use profanity is to profane the nature of the area in which you swear")

philanthropy

voluntary promotion of human welfare (e.g. "a philanthropist is a person who exercises philanthropy")

delinquent

wanting, failing, overdue (e.g. "the professor was delinquent in his teaching responsibilities; he spent so much of his time doing research that he almost completely neglected his students")

begrudge

wish ill or allow unwillingly (e.g. "'your performance was admirable,' my opponent said begrudgingly") কোনো ব্যাপারে অসন্তুষ্ট হওয়া;পরশ্রীকাতারতা You shouldn't begrudge her success.

covet

wish, long, or crave for (something, especially the property of another person) (e.g. "Mary coveted Julie's pearls; she envied her.") লোভ করা , লালায়িত হওয়া , ব্যাকুলভাবে কামনা করা

impromptu

with little or no preparation or forethought; without advance preparation (e.g. "after I was seized with the urge to practice my acting skills, I decided to give an impromptu one-man rendition of Hamlet")

secede

withdraw from an organization or communion (e.g. "When the Confederate States of America tried to secede from the Union, Abraham Lincoln was there to stop them.")

reclusive

withdrawn, hermit-like (e.g. "the reclusive man seemed aloof to me; but then, all reclusive people are ipso facto aloof, so that isn't saying much")

impeccable

without fault or error (e.g. "Santa Claus's credentials are impeccable -- he's been running a non-profit charity and has over two thousand years of job experience")

gratis

without payment (e.g. "the cookie is gratis with the meal")

karma

(Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation (e.g. "Hindus and Buddhists believe that if a person behaves poorly in this life, then it will be his karma to be reincarnated in a lower caste -- or worse, as a lower creature, such as a dog or a rat.")

provincial

(adj.) pertaining to an outlying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook, countrified in the sense of being limited and backward; of a simple, plain design that originated in the countryside; (n.) a person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony (e.g. "that the hermit possesses an extremely provincial attitude to foreign affairs should not come as a surprise: he has never crept more than ten yards away from the cave where he dwells")

demeanor

(behavioral attributes) the way a person behaves toward other people (e.g. "nobody found the curmudgeon's grumpy demeanor to be particularly endearing")

apparition

(n.) a ghost or ghostly figure; an unexplained or unusual appearance (e.g. "the apparition that appeared in my living room at midnight said that he was the ghost of my father's brother-in-law's aunt; I didn't believe him") আকস্মিক আবির্ভাব , অলৌকিক আবির্ভাব

disposition

Attitude or mood (e.g. "a stomachache did not sweeten his already choleric disposition")

CRESCENDO

CRESCENDO (kruh SHEN doh) n a gradual increase in intensity, particularly in music Usually, crescendo is used to describe music or sound, but it can be used in more figurative ways, as well. • The audience's attention was held rapt as the orchestra worked its way to a crescendo, filling every nook in the hall with thunderous sound. • The crescendo of RSVPs seems to have passed, as we now are receiving only one or two replies per day.

CYNICISM

CYNICISM (SIN uh si zum) n an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness • Tricia's cynicism was matched only by her own selfishness; she believed no one else was altruistic because she never was herself. Someone who displays cynicism is called a cynic. • The cynics say that these donations were made to receive public praise, but if that's true, why were they made anonymously?

DAMP

DAMP (damp) v to diminish the intensity or check something, such as a sound or feeling • Her hopes were damped when she checked the mailbox and there was still no letter for the fourth day in a row. • The mattresses and foam placed around the room damped the noise to a sufficient degree that the band could play without disturbing the neighbors.

FECKLESS

FECKLESS (FEK lus) adj ineffectual; irresponsible • My feckless brother managed to get himself grounded again, proving one more time that I am the more responsible sibling.

FELICITOUS

FELICITOUS (fi LI suh tus) adj apt; suitably expressed, well chosen, apropos; delightful • She can always be counted on for the most felicitous remark; she has something appropriate for every occasion. • We found our favorite restaurant by a felicitous accident; we misread the directions to our planned destination and ended up someplace much better. Felicity is the state of or something that causes happiness. Infelicitous, on the other hand, means unfortunate or inappropriate. • It was an infelicitous mix-up when the clown and the exotic dancer got the addresses mixed up for the birthday parties at which they were supposed to perform.

FELL

FELL (fel) n a barren or stony hill; an animal's hide • The cabin stood isolated on the wind-swept fell. Fell has a wide variety of meanings. In addition to the past tense of "to fall," it can also be a verb meaning "to cut down," as in "The lumberjacks felled many trees that day." As an adjective it can mean cruel, savage, or lethal.

FERVENT

FERVENT (FUR vunt) adj greatly emotional or zealous • It looks as if it is going to be a long night of polka, since the band rejected our fervent pleas for a change in musical selection. • Her fervent support of environmental protection policies led her to write over a thousand letters to Congress last year alone. Fervor is a related word that means passion or intense emotion.

FLORID

FLORID (FLOR id) adj flushed with color, ruddy, ornate • Glen always became a little florid when he drank; his face became bright red. • His florid prose style was perfect for romance novels, but not very well suited to his current job writing for a business magazine.

INTERDICT

INTERDICT (in tur DIKT) v prohibit, forbid, ban, halt • Although Prohibition attempted to interdict the sale of alcohol, it was never entirely successful. An interdiction is a prohibition against something. • My parents' interdiction against my going out on a school night never worked as long as I was able to sneak out the window without getting caught.

INTIMATE

INTIMATE (IN tim ayt) v to imply, suggest or insinuate • I'm shocked that you would intimate that I borrowed your car without asking; just because I have the keys in my hand doesn't mean I would ever think of doing such a thing! • The governor intimated that he might run for Congress, but coyly refused to commit one way or the other. An intimation is a hint. • Her intimations that I might get the job only made me more nervous.

MOLLIFY

MOLLIFY (MAH luh fy) v to calm or soothe, reduce in emotional intensity • After stepping on her tail, I tried to mollify the cat by scratching her head and giving her some milk. • He seemed somewhat mollified by my promise to buy him two scoops of ice cream to replace the one that fell on the ground; at least he stopped crying long enough to agree. Emollient is a related word that can either be an adjective or a noun, and you may well recognize it from advertisements for body lotion; see the entry under emollient for more details.

PLETHORA

PLETHORA (PLE thor uh) n an overabundance, a surplus • Charles always had a plethora of excuses for being late, and they were as imaginative as they were plentiful. • Since there was still a plethora of qualified candidates at the end of the second round of interviews, Michael decided he needed to conduct a third round. • There was a plethora of chimpanzees in our living room, but then even one is usually too many.

abase

To lower in rank, prestige, or esteem (e.g. "my friend was abased in my eyes after he exhibited atrocious behavior") হীন করা , হেয় করা

VISCOUS

VISCOUS (VIS kus) ad! thick, sticky • The viscous cold medicine was designed to coat the throat, but its stickiness made it very unpleasant to swallow. • Pitcher plants, among other carnivorous plants, catch their prey in viscous fluids in which the insects get stuck. Viscosity is the state of being viscous. • The apple juice had reached a disturbing level of viscosity after sitting out for a few days.

VITIATE

VITIATE (VI shee ayt) v to reduce the value of, debase, spoil, make ineffective • His failure to live up to his end of the deal vitiated the entire agreement as far as I was concerned. • The usefulness of the experimental results was vitiated by the lack of a control group against which to measure them.

VITUPERATE

VITUPERATE (vy TOOP ur ayt) v to use harsh condemnatory language; abuse or censure severely • Don't you vituperate me, missy, when you know you're every bit as much to blame. • After they had spent most of the day vituperating each other in the harshest terms possible, it was a little strange to see them settle their differences so easily and walk off arm in arm to get lunch.

WAFT

WAFT (wahft) n a light breeze, a puff • I must not have been holding on to the kite string very tightly, because just a single, gentle waft of air was enough to send it floating away over the rooftops. Waft as a verb means to send floating through the air or over water. • The ant wafted down the creek on a leaf raft.

foible

a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual (e.g. "one of Johanna's foibles was that she absolutely refused to touch anything round")

grimace

a contorted facial expression; contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state (e.g. "when his mother asked him if he had eaten his vegetables, he grimaced and replied, 'no, but I don't like them'")

figment

a contrived or fantastic idea (e.g. "I don't believe that you really saw flying cows; I think that they're a figment of your imagination")

polemic

a controversy (especially over a belief or dogma) (e.g. "the polemic discussion regarding the composition of the moon quickly degenerated into a riot, with half of the people claiming it was made of green cheese and the other half claiming it was made of yellow cheese")

machination

a crafty and involved plot to achieve one's (usually sinister) ends (e.g. "Hank's machinations regarding his plot to take over the world were so labyrinthine and involved that he eventually became too confused to actually carry out his plot")

despot

a cruel and oppressive dictator (e.g. "John Smith of Timbuktu was a despot; he allowed no one to say that he was a rich, greedy miser and that he oppressed the people, even though he was a rich, greedy miser and he oppressed the people")

curmudgeon

a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas (e.g. "although at first glance the old man might appear to be a curmudgeon, he is really very sweet once you get to know him")

meander

a curve in a stream; to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course (e.g. "The meandering nature of his essay led me to believe that he hadn't written an outline beforehand.")

artifice

a deceptive maneuver (especially to avoid capture) (e.g. "The general's artifice was unparalleled: using it, he managed to outstratagize an army ten times larger than his; his forces one the battle.") কারচুপি

configuration

a shape or outline; a method of arrangement (e.g. "the configuration of the Pentagon is like a pentagon")

adduce

advance evidence for (e.g. "the man tried to adduce evidence to prove that the moon was made of green cheese; however, he couldn't come up with any") প্রমাণ স্বরূপ উল্লেখ করা (V), নজির স্বরূপ উল্লেখ করা (V)

plausible

appearing to merit belief or acceptance; within the realm of credibility; likely but not certain to be or become true or real; apparently reasonable and valid (e.g. "The belief the the moon is made of green cheese is implausible.")

generic

applicable to an entire class or group; (of drugs) not protected by trademark (e.g. "it is usually cheaper to buy a generic brand of a product than to buy a name-brand of the same product")

ratify

approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation (e.g. "When Congress failed to ratify the new bill, this meant that the proposed changes in government policy would not take place.")

attest

authenticate, affirm to be true, genuine, or correct, as in an official capacity, provide evidence for (e.g. "the witness attested to the fact that the defendant was indeed miles away from the scene of the crime when the crime was committed")

barrage

barrier laid down by artillery fire; dam; large volume of something(e.g. "the troops leaped out of the trenches and attempted to storm the enemy's trench lines amidst a barrage of gunfire") বাঁধ , বেড়াজাল the star athlete was barraged with requests for an autograph

abound

be abundant or plentiful (e.g. "weeds abound in my garden, but there are flowers") প্রচুর পরিমানে

elusive

be difficult to detect or grasp by the mind, skillful at eluding capture (e.g. "in Dickens's book 'Oliver Twist', one character, known as 'the Artful Dodger', is very skilled at eluding police; he is very elusive")

suffice

be sufficient (e.g. "When asked how much of an advance on her allowance she wanted, Sally replied, 'I think five million dollars will suffice.'")

languish

become feeble (e.g. "as our hero attempted to rescue the heroine, who was languishing in the castle dungeons, he got lost in the labyrinthine passages of the castle, and died of starvation")

congeal

become gelatinous (e.g. "the material in the test tube began to congeal, so what had formerly been a liquid was quickly becoming a gelatinous solid") াণ্ডায় জমাট বাঁধা , শিলীভবন ঘটা

integrate

become one (e.g. "After the United States Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation was unconstitutional, the public schools were integrated -- that is, the schools that had previously been available only to students of a Caucasian background were now available to everybody.")

assimilate

become similar to one's environment (e.g. "The teacher was surprised at the student's ability to assimilate data: he learned it very quickly.") অঙ্গীভূত করা , একত্রিত করা , সম্মিলিত করা

posture

behave affectedly or unnaturally in order to impress others (e.g. "All members of the human species appear to exhibit a natural inclination to claim that someone else is posturing simply to make a good impression, while simultaneously posturing themselves.")

flounder

behave awkwardly (e.g. "after we caught the fish, it floundered awkwardly on the deck for a few minutes before expiring because of a lack of oxygen")

rudimentary

being in the earliest stages of development (e.g. "one who knows only basic addition has only a rudimentary grasp of mathematics")

wrath

belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong (personified as one of the deadly sins); intense anger (usually on an epic scale) (e.g. "The king's intense wrath is a result of his subjects' refusal to worship him.")

palpable

capable of being perceived by the senses or the mind (e.g. "the tension in the room was almost palpable; that is, I could practically feel it")

materialistic

conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class; marked by materialism (e.g. "Some people say that our culture is too materialistic, too focused on materialism.")

eclipse

darken; extinguish; outshine; surpass; cause an eclipse (e.g. "my admiration turned to jealousy as his achievements rapidly eclipsed my own")

enumerate

to count, list, or itemize (e.g. "as the entrepreneur tried to enumerate his losses, he was stunned to find that they amounted to over $10,000,000")

dismal

depressing in character or appearance (e.g. "the dreary, dismal weather outside did nothing to raise my spirits")

disfranchise

deprive of voting rights (e.g. "after the American Civil War, some southern states tried to disfranchise those of African-American persuasion by forcing voters to pay a tax, called a poll tax, which prevent the poor--including some African-Americans--from being able to vote")

discern

detect with the senses (e.g. "despite John's quiet demeanor, James discerned the surging tides of emotions which lay beneath the surface")

contingent

determined by conditions or circumstances not yet established (e.g. "My getting to watch a movie tonight is contingent upon my finishing my homework early.") অনিশ্চিত , অনিয়ত , আকস্মিক , শর্তসাপেক্ষ , নির্ভরশীল

nepotism

favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs) (e.g. "the CEO of the company was obviously exhibiting nepotism when he gave his incompetent brother an administrative position")'

folly

foolish or senseless behavior (e.g. "one folly of modern society is its emphasis on fashion; fashion is fickle, and unworthy of emphasis")

connive

form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner, encourage or assent to illegally or criminally (e.g. "the conniving criminals pondered about how they were going to invade Fort Knox") উপেক্ষা করা , দেখেও না দেখা , প্রচ্ছন্নভাবে প্রশ্রয় দেওয়া , চক্রান্ত করা

livid

furiously angry (e.g. "James' political opponent became livid when James pointed out all of the flaws in the opponent's views")

address

give a speech to (e.g. "Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is considered one of the high points of American History.")

resplendent

having great beauty and splendor; richly and brilliantly colorful (e.g. "Her wedding gown was a resplendent white.")

superficial

involving a surface only (e.g. "although there are some similarities between a pen and a pencil, most of these are superficial: their actual constructions are very different")

fiscal

involving financial matters (e.g. "Arnold, you need to learn fiscal responsibility; otherwise you'll bankrupt the whole company!")

auspices

kindly endorsement and guidance (e.g. "our laboratory operates under the auspices of the university down the street; they fund us and give us guidance with our experiments") পৃষ্�� পোষকতা (N)

scorn

lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike; open disrespect for a person or thing; reject with contempt; look down on with disdain (e.g. "The athlete felt scorn and derision for all non-athletes.")

lax

lacking in rigor or strictness (e.g. "The principal's standards are far too lax; the last time a student attacked his teacher, he wasn't even suspended")

convene

meet formally, call together (e.g. "after the meeting had convened, I brought some matters to the attention of the group which I considered extremely important") আহ্বান করা, মিলিত হওয়া, সমবেত হওয়া, সমবেত হওয়া, একত্র আহ্বান করা

immigration

migration into a place (especially migration to a country of which one are not a native in order to settle there) (e.g. "in the 1800s, during the Irish potato famine, many immigrated to the United States")

redundant

more than is needed, desired, or required (e.g. "it can be a good thing for equipment to have redundant parts; that way, if one of the parts fails, there is a backup which can take over for it")

dissipate

move away from each other (e.g. "as the toxic gas dissipated, everyone who was still alive was able to breathe again")

teem

move in large numbers; be teeming, be abuzz (e.g. "The ants teemed over the remnant of sticky syrup that had been left on the table.")

brawn

muscular strength (e.g. "'I didn't hire you for your brains,' said the supervisor, 'I hired you for your brawn.'") পেশি , শক্তি

insubordinate

not submissive to authority (e.g. "in the navy, insubordination is a crime")

divine

perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers (e.g. "he actually seems to have the ability to divine the upcoming vicissitudes of the stock market; he's made a fortune in it")

epoch

period of time (e.g. "the beginning of the Atomic Age signaled both the end of an epoch and the beginning of a new one")

cull

pick out; reject (e.g. "the nasty teacher culled all of the most difficult mathematics problems from the entire textbook and assigned them all to her students on the first day of class")

proclaim

praise, glorify, or honor; state or announce; declare formally; affirm or declare as an attribute or quality of (e.g. "The king proclaimed the day to be a day of celebration since his armies had just defeated the armies of his enemy.")

ominous

presaging ill-fortune; threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments (e.g. "The ominous storm clouds in the sky dissipated, and it generally looked as if it was going to be a very cheerful day.")

judicious

proceeding from good sense or judgment (e.g. "Bob's judicious behavior won his many friends")

fruitful

productive or conducive to producing in abundance; productive of profit (e.g. "his period as a writer was especially fruitful; he produced over a dozen novels and short stories during this period")

acquit

pronounce not guilty of criminal charges (e.g. "the defendant was acquitted of all charges brought against him") মিটিয়ে দেওয়া , বেকসুর খালাস দেওয়া

competent

properly or sufficiently qualified or capable or efficient (e.g. "unfortunately, our company is littered with employee who aren't competent or even qualified for the job at all") যথেষ্ট যোগ্যতাসম্পন্ন , খুব সন্তোষজনক

rebut

prove to be false or incorrect (e.g. "the scientist easily rebutted the lunatic's claim that the moon was made of green cheese")

extremity

the farthest or outermost point or part; the greatest degree; grave danger, necessity, or distress; an extreme measure (e.g. "I hoped that the situation wouldn't come to this dire extremity, but since it has, I urge the council to enact a new course of action")

chaste

pure and simple in design or style; morally pure (especially not having experienced sexual intercourse) (e.g. "the artist's chaste, unadorned style stood out from all of the baroque paintings in the same gallery") শুদ্ধাত্মা , নির্মলচিত্ত , সংযত

disgruntle

put into a bad mood or into bad humor (e.g. "a disgruntled ex-employee attacked his former boss with a machete")

deduce

reason by deduction (e.g. "in Sherlock Holmes novels, Holmes always deduces the identity of the murderer by the end")

expostulate

reason with (somebody) for the purpose of dissuasion (e.g. "when my friend decided that he wanted to try to drink the entire bottle of Tabasco sauce, I expostulated with him, hoping to dissuade him from a course of action which could have no end result but utter ruin of his gastrointestinal system")

conjecture

reasoning that involves the formation of conclusions from incomplete evidence (e.g. "My theory is just conjecture; I don't have any evidence to support it.") অনুমান করা , আন্দাজ করা , আঁচ করা

discriminate

recognize or perceive the difference (e.g. "the wine connoisseur has a discriminating palette; he only drinks the best")

invoke

request earnestly (something from somebody); cite as an authority; evoke or call forth, with or as if by magic (e.g. "When I was trying to convince my friend that the Earth was round, not flat, he invoked a source from the 15th century which stated that the author felt that if the Earth was round, then everyone on the bottom of it would fall off, so therefore the Earth wasn't round; I questioned the validity of his source.")

presuppose

require as a necessary antecedent or precondition; take for granted or as a given (e.g. "I have taken the liberty of presupposing that if you are doing this set of Quizlet flashcards then you are probably a high schooler preparing for the SAT.")

manifest

reveal its presence or make an appearance (e.g. "the disease does not make itself manifest until it is in its final stage; by then nothing can be done about it, and the patient will die")

sumptuous

rich and superior in quality (e.g. "The sumptuous food that the king had at his banquet must have cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars!")

opulent

rich and superior in quality (e.g. "the opulent man was so wealthy that he actually hired people to turn off his alarm clock for him")

deft

skillful in physical movements (e.g. "the criminal deftly opened the safe without making any noise")

insolvent

someone who has insufficient assets to cover their debts (e.g. "if a person is financially insolvent, they will soon become bankrupt")

supplication

the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving); a humble request for help from someone in authority; a prayer asking God's help as part of a religious service (e.g. "As part of the five-year-old's supplication to Santa Claus in his letter, he asked for lots and lots of money as well as some real estate.")

diminution

the act of decreasing or reducing something (e.g. "the diminution of popular support for the new government bill has caused it to be scrapped")

spate

the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow; a sudden forceful flow; (often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent (e.g. "After the spate of uprisings following the French Revolution, the heads of state of the various countries of Europe organized the Congress of Vienna, at which the reactionary rules of the day sought to restore the status quo to what it had been before the French Revolution.")

incumbent

the official who holds an office; currently holding an office (e.g. "the incumbent politician was able to ensure that he would win the election by embezzling money from the public treasury; he used this money on the campaign trail")

assert

to declare or state as truth, maintain or defend, put forward forcefully (e.g. "I asserted -- correctly -- that the moon was not made of green cheese; unfortunately, the person to whom I was speaking believed otherwise")সোজাসুজি বলা

foreclose

to deprive a mortgagor of his or her right to redeem a property; to shut out or exclude (e.g. "the banker foreclosed on the owner's property, because the owner hadn't paid his monthly payments in over a year")

dismay

to destroy courage or resolution; to cause to lose enthusiasm, to disillusion (e.g. "I was dismayed when I was abducted by aliens")

ebb

to fade away, recede (e.g. "his interest in his new toy ebbed, and eventually he forgot about it completely")

docile

willing to be taught or led or supervised or directed (e.g. "the pit bull looked very fierce; however, surprisingly enough, it was truly quite docile")

amoral

without moral standards or principles (e.g. "Many people today could be considered amoral: their lifestyle doesn't reflect any definite moral absolutes or ethics.") অনৈতিক ,নৈতিক চেতনা বর্জিত

despondent

without or almost without hope (e.g. "the heiress wannabe was despondent when she heard that her rich uncle had bequeathed all his money to someone else")

sarcasm

witty language used to convey insults or scorn (e.g. "'Wow, that was brilliant,' I stated with sarcasm.")

salutation

word of greeting used to begin a letter; (usually plural) an acknowledgment or expression of good will (especially on meeting); an act of honor or courteous recognition (e.g. "I sent my salutations to the new bride and groom.")

toil

work hard; productive work (especially physical work done for wages) (e.g. "And what do we receive after our years of toil? Nothing except a $500 check and a pat on the back.")

secular

worldly; not pertaining to church matters or religion; temporal (e.g. "it seems that 'secular clergy' would be an oxymoron; however, centuries ago, there were clergy called this")

chaff

worthless matter (e.g. "although your essay has some brilliant points, 99% of it is chaff") শস্যদানার খোসা , বাজে জিনিস

creditable

worthy of often limited commendation (e.g. "The theory that the Earth is flat is not creditable; it is worthy of absolutely zero commendation.") ক্রেডিটেবল (N), বিশ্বাসযোগ্য (Adj.), সম্মানজনক (Adj.), কুদরতী (Adj.)

libel

written untruths that are harmful to someone's reputation (e.g. "the CEO of the company accused the newspaper editor of libel when a newspaper article claimed that the CEO was 'a stinking, lying, no-good cheat'")